Monthly Recap – Februrary ed.

How is everybody doing so far in this difficult time of the pandemic? OneStart Business Centre hopes that business has been running great, and will love to offer any help you would need.

In February, we mainly talked about Company Formation. From the different types of company for company incorporation, to overseas company formation; and from introducing the procedures of company formation two other legislation details you should pay attention to, we have come across a very long journey. Hopefully, all the blogs have been informative and of great use in your way in company formation. Similar with our last Monthly Recap, the February edition would cover the summary of information we talked about within a month.

About the types of Company

We covered two main categories of company in company formation. They are Limited Company and Unlimited Company. The main differences between the two types of companies lies in their liability. For a limited company, the limited company can act as a separate entity from its shareholders. Therefore, the shareholders of the limited companies would have limited liabilities, meaning that they only have to bear the losses that are limited to what they have invested. On the other hand, for an unlimited company, unlimited company cannot act as a separate entity from its owners. As a result, the proprietor or partners’ private assets would be subject to contribution when capitals of the unlimited company run short.

If you incorporated a limited company, which means your personal access would be distinct from the company’s losses. At the same time, The contract risks and business risks you are bearing will be less. However, although proprietors or partners of unlimited companies we'll have to bear more risks and liabilities, they have more say and control in their own company. In comparison, shareholders of a limited company could transfer ownerships in a much easier way than partners of an unlimited company, as the selling of shares is only governed by the company's own rules and laws.

Company formation as an unlimited company also means that you don't have to appoint a company secretary and file annual accounts to the registrar like limited companies. You could also enjoy a lower profit tax rate and would not have to pay the annual return fee. OneStart Business Centre has a professional team dedicated to offer you with our company secretary service. Need not to be worried with this aspect, if you wish to incorporate a limited company.

Company Formation Procedures

In our third blogs, we talked about details, regulations and procedures clients should pay attention to while getting prepared for company formation. After settling into the form of company you would like to incorporate you will have to name your new business. There were lists of regulations in naming your limited or unlimited company that are strictly regulated by the Companies Ordinance, for example the followings:

- English limited company name must end with the word “Limited”

- Chinese Limited company name must end with the characters “有限公司”

- Chinese characters of your Chinese limited company name should only be in traditional Chinese characters

- Chinese characters of the Chinese limited company name should be found and the specified dictionaries.

- the name should not be the same as those listed in the index of company names provided by the Registrar of Companies

Once you have confirmed a valid company name you can start to draft out the documents you need to hand in to the Companies Registry:

(1) the Incorporation Form

(2) Company’s Article of Association

(3) a Notice to Business Registration Office

Or you can choose to use OneStart Business Centre’s Company formation service, to skip out all the trivial steps of form filling and documents drafting. Simply provide our consultants with the necessary documents, and we will handle the rest for you.

Upon successful filing of company formation, the Company Registry would issue the Certificate of Incorporation and Business Registration Certificate. Soft copies of that documents would be sent to the registered email address, but hard copies would require in person pick-up at the registry upon presentation of identification document.

It might be hard to squeeze your valuable time for queueing up at the Government’s Office. If you participated in the company formation service from OneStart Business Centre, only with a written authorization, we would be able to pick it up for you.

Other type of Incorporation Services

OneStart Business Centre’s company formation service not only offers you with incorporation services within the Hong Kong border, but also overseas. We could help you during your process of company formation at the countries listed as follows: England, USA (New York), USA (California), USA (Delaware), Macau, Foreign-owned enterprises in China, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman and Anguilla. Among these countries, the three most popular choices for company formation among our customers are Macau, Singapore and BVI. For further details of company formation at this important financial investment destinations, click here or call our consultants to know more.

If you request for an instant and faster company of formation processes, there might be a little shortcut OneStart Business Centre could offer you with. We have a list of readymade company or shelf company that you can choose from. Be rest-assured, all the choices we provide you with are debt-free and are not in operation. It would take at least only two days to finish up the purchase shelf company procedures, and then you will have a limited company to conduct your own business right away.

Legislative Responsibilities

Congratulations on your successful incorporation however you still have some legislative responsibilities to fulfill, and OneStart Business Centre could be a great helper in reminding you about them.

The first part is keeping a good record of your significant controllers register. Significant controllers register is a list of those natural persons, or a limited company as a legal entity, who have a significant control over your company matters. Companies registered within the Hong Kong border, except a listed company, would all have to submit a registration to the Company Registry. For more details as to how to identify the company's important controllers you can refer back to our fifth blog of company formation, our phone into find our consultants for more advice.

The second legislative responsibilities that we covered will be annual return. A local private company, a local public company, at a local limited company limited by guarantees, will all have to deliver the company's annual return every year for registration. Please note that the deadlines for submitting the completed Form NAR1, with a clear statement of the annual return of your company, vary for different types of companies. If you seek professional accounting services, OneStart Business Centre could help you with it!

In February, we touched on Company Formation. Next Month – March, we will introduce you to the complex process Accounting Tax and Auditing, and explain to you how we can help you through it. 

There are so many business decisions you have to make, and it is OneStart Business Centre’s objective to offer you with all-rounded business assistant. 

Interested in OneStart Business Centre's professional services? Phone in to our hotline 3575 6888 or WhatsApp our helpful consultants!