Company formation and business bank account (not yet HK resident) from Canada

Earlybird · 06-12-2012, 09:53 AM

Hello Everybody,

I spent over 2hrs in this forum today trying to get an answer and was unable to. So I decided to start my own thread.

Here is my short story, I am going to HK in couple months to get my HK ID I qualify for the Right of Abode (I'm Canadian). I am currently self employed and want to set up a business (I think sole proprietor) what are the requirements for this as a non-resident? I have no idea how long it will take for me to get my HKID *I'll only be in HongKong for total of 3 and half weeks.
Next I need to set up a business account what do I have to do to set this up as non-resident. I would ideally like to do this first or is it better to open the account after I get my HDID - however I won't have a HK address. The other issue is that I have no idea if I can get the HKID ontime before I have to head back home. I want all this in place before I actually moved to HK which is in June.

Any suggestions for any of the above stuff mentioned would be great. At this point, I don't know really what I'm doing and need some solid advice for any of the things mentioned above. Many thanks.

flameproof · 06-12-2012, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by Earlybird:

I won't have a HK address.

Don't you need a (company) address in Hong Kong to open a HK company?

Note that banks often ask for address proof for a private bank account.

Trebor · 06-12-2012, 11:47 AM

I've sent you a PM.

Gruntfuttock · 06-12-2012, 12:12 PM

Getting a Sole Proprietor business when non-resident is now rather hard. IRD has cracked down dramatically in the last year on this. See http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bre_abr.htm#11

For a one-stop shop to assist you in setting up your business try here: http://bizboxhk.com/

lionrock88 · 06-12-2012, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock:

For a one-stop shop to assist you in setting up your business try here: http://bizboxhk.com/

15K for company setup with no registered address/virtual office is quite expensive.

All the other bundled items - domain name, basic wordpress site, logo, business cards - can be obtained very inexpensively.

Earlybird · 06-12-2012, 03:12 PM

thanks for your comments guys....

Earlybird · 06-12-2012, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock:

Getting a Sole Proprietor business when non-resident is now rather hard. IRD has cracked down dramatically in the last year on this. See http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bre_abr.htm#11

For a one-stop shop to assist you in setting up your business try here: http://bizboxhk.com/

As I mentioned in my initial first post that I will be getting my HK ID, however I must do that within 3 weeks which is the time I will be in HK. So if I open a sole proprietor company and bank account with my HKID, I suppose I still need to provide a HK address am I correct? Thanks

Trebor · 06-12-2012, 04:08 PM

Hi Earlybird

You can open a personal bank account with proof of address in your current country of residence with HSBC as this is what I did back in January. Once you have settled you can update their records by sending them proof of your new HK address (I think I also opened the account with my passport as my HKID hadnt come through yet). In fact we have opened a Company account using our client's (and shareholder of the Company) Canadian driving licence. However the registered office address of a Company was with us.

Not sure on policies of other banks.

I guess if you go the route of a proprietary then you can open a personal account anyway as you won't have limited liability so doesn't matter if it's in your name?

Gruntfuttock · 06-12-2012, 05:03 PM

In order to register any business (company, partnership or sole proprietor) in HK you must have a HK address anyway. To open any business account HSBC will require a certified copy of the business registration form showing who the proprietor is and what its registered address (in HK) is.

But, as noted above, there is no need for a Sole Proprietor business to have a separate business account. You can use your personal account, and for that an overseas address is acceptable (to HSBC at least).

Earlybird · 06-12-2012, 10:39 PM

Originally Posted by Gruntfuttock:

But, as noted above, there is no need for a Sole Proprietor business to have a separate business account. You can use your personal account, and for that an overseas address is acceptable (to HSBC at least).

Thanks for the great info. However, the company that I currently have a short term contract with is not willing to send payments to an account with my name it needs to be a business or atleast an account with a company name - so there is my problem.
UNLESS - if what you mean is that I can start a sole proprietor business (example; EarlyBird webdesigns) and still able to get my client to send me funds via my personal account under that company name (but it would be my personal account)

Best, EB