Hong Kong Limited Company

Overview

A limited company is a discrete legal entity which ensure that the liability of the shareholders does not extend to them personally, (unlike a sole proprietorship or a general partnership) and is wholly contained within the company. The incorporation of a limited company establishes a separate legal personality for that company with the same rights and obligations as a natural person.

Requirements

To register a company, the shareholder(s), whether they are individuals or other corporations, must appoint at least one director, who is a natural person.
The director(s) may be the same person(s) as the shareholder(s).
Private companies may even appoint corporate directors, provided that there is at least one natural person director.
Following the principle of separation of ownership and management, the shareholder(s) may appoint unrelated director(s).
Another office bearer appointed to the company is the Company Secretary, who is required to be ordinarily residing in Hong Kong.

Every Hong Kong company must have a Registered Office and a Company Secretary in Hong Kong.
It is highly recommended to appoint a professional service provider, such as Hong Kong Corporate Services to this office, to ensure statutory compliance and good governance.
The company name must not be the same as, or similar to any other company name appearing in the Hong Kong Register of Companies.
The registration process can generally be completed within 5 working days.
Submissions in electronic form are usually processed within the same day, however, the e-incorporation is available to registered users only.