Hong Kong Company: Your First-Year Checklist

As of October 2026

Important: This guide is general information drawn from public sources and is current only as of October 2026. It is not legal, tax or regulatory advice, and it does not take your specific facts into account. The publisher is not a Hong Kong law firm and does not practise Hong Kong law. Reading this guide does not create a solicitor-client, adviser or other professional relationship. Hong Kong laws, licensing conditions and fees change often, and regulators may apply them differently in practice. Do not rely on this guide to decide whether you need a licence or how to structure, register or price a business. Before acting, consult a solicitor qualified to practise in Hong Kong and a Hong Kong tax adviser.

This checklist walks a foreign founder through the first year of a Hong Kong private company, in the order things usually come up: before you incorporate, at incorporation, in the first weeks, while you hire, and around your first anniversary. Each item links to the official source it comes from. Where we found no license path in published sources, we say "no license path identified in published sources — confirm with counsel". That wording does not mean no license is required. Where we say "confirm with counsel", we mean a solicitor qualified to practise in Hong Kong.

1. Before you incorporate

Pick your vehicle. A private company limited by shares is a separate legal entity and the usual choice for full operations. A registered non-Hong Kong company (a branch) is not a separate entity, and the parent remains liable. It must register within one month of setting up a place of business in Hong Kong and appoint an authorized representative: a Hong Kong resident, or a Hong Kong solicitor or CPA firm (Companies Registry FAQ; Cap. 622, s776).
Line up at least one director. A private company needs at least one director who is a natural person (Cap. 622, s457). There is no resident-director rule: directors do not need to live in Hong Kong (Companies Registry: directors and secretaries FAQ).
Line up a company secretary. Every company needs one. An individual secretary must ordinarily live in Hong Kong; a corporate secretary must have its registered office or a place of business in Hong Kong (s474). If the company has only one director, that person cannot also be the secretary (s475).
Arrange a Hong Kong registered office. The registered office must be in Hong Kong (s658). Businesses that provide secretary and address services must hold a trust or company service provider (TCSP) license from the Companies Registry (TCSP licensing pamphlet). Check that any provider you use is licensed.
Ownership and capital. No general foreign-ownership cap applies to ordinary Hong Kong companies, so 100% foreign ownership is possible, and there is no minimum share capital for an ordinary company (Companies Registry: incorporation FAQ). Regulated activities have their own rules (see section 5).

2. At incorporation

Government incorporation fee: HK$1,545 online through the Companies Registry, or HK$1,720 on paper (Companies Registry fees).
Timing: online applications are usually certified within 1 hour, and paper ones in 4 working days (incorporation FAQ).
Business registration: incorporation also counts as your business registration application. The fee and levy for a 1-year certificate are HK$2,350 (fee HK$2,200 plus levy HK$150, for certificates starting 1 Apr 2026 to 31 Mar 2027) (IRD fee table; IRD business registration).

3. In the first weeks

Set up your significant controllers register. Record anyone holding more than 25% of shares or votes or otherwise controlling the company. Keep it in Hong Kong and appoint a designated representative. It is not filed publicly but must be shown to law-enforcement officers on demand (Companies Registry: significant controllers register FAQ).
Show your registered name. Display the company's registered name at its premises and on its website, letters and invoices (Cap. 622B; Companies Registry FAQ).
Register any trading name. A trading name used by a company must be registered as a business name branch with the Inland Revenue Department (IRD: certificates and business names).
Check whether your activity is regulated before you launch (see section 5).

4. Hiring yourself and your team

Common routes for founders, as published by the Immigration Department:

Route	Who it suits	Key criteria
General Employment Policy: professionals (ImmD)	Founders and senior hires employed by the Hong Kong company	A genuine job that cannot readily be filled locally, a good education background (normally a relevant first degree) or equivalent skills and experience, and market-level pay. No quota. Initial stay normally 36 months, or the contract term if shorter. Processing normally 4 weeks after all required documents and the application fee are received.
General Employment Policy: investment as an entrepreneur (ImmD)	Founders setting up or joining a business	Must be able to make a substantial contribution to the economy. Assessed on a business plan, turnover, financial resources, investment, local jobs and new technology or skills. Start-ups backed by government-supported programs (such as StartmeupHK or Science Park and Cyberport incubators) may be viewed favorably. Initial stay up to 36 months. Processing normally 4 weeks.
Top Talent Pass Scheme (ImmD)	High earners and recent graduates of top universities	Category A: annual income of HK$2.5 million or more. Category B: graduates of eligible universities with 3+ years' experience in the last five years. Category C: recent graduates of eligible universities with less experience (annual quota). No job offer needed. Initial stay 36 months (A) or 24 months (B and C). Processing normally 4 weeks.

Visa fees are set by the Immigration Department and are not covered here. Employer registrations and contributions (including the Mandatory Provident Fund) are also not covered in this checklist: confirm with a Hong Kong tax adviser or counsel before your first hire.

5. If your business is regulated

Most ordinary trading and service companies need only the steps above. Financial products are different. A short summary of the published rules:

Consumer loans and buy now, pay later: a money lender's license under the Money Lenders Ordinance (Cap. 163) where the service involves money lending. Lending as a business without a license is a criminal offense, and lending at an effective rate above 48% a year is an offense for anyone, licensed or not (Cap. 163; LegCo reply, 7 Oct 2026).
E-wallets and prepaid products: a stored value facility license from the HKMA, which requires a Hong Kong-incorporated company with paid-up capital of at least HK$25 million (or equivalent financial resources) (Cap. 584).
Cross-border remittance and money changing: a money service operator license from the Customs and Excise Department (Cap. 615).
Payment gateways that neither hold value nor remit cross-border, and independent debt collection agencies: no license path identified in published sources — confirm with counsel.
Earned wage access funded by a third party: may count as money lending. No license path identified in published sources — confirm with counsel.

If any of these could apply to you, confirm with counsel before you launch or take customer money.

6. Rules that apply from day one

Personal data: follow the six data protection principles under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. Data breach notification to the PCPD is recommended, not a statutory requirement (PCPD). Direct marketing needs consent; offenses carry fines of up to HK$500,000 and 3 years' imprisonment, or HK$1 million and 5 years where data is passed to others for gain. No data protection officer or registration requirement was identified.
Suspicious transactions must be reported to the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit. Licensed stored value facility issuers, money service operators and TCSPs have their own customer due diligence and record-keeping rules.
Profits tax: corporations pay 8.25% on the first HK$2 million of assessable profits and 16.5% on the rest. Within a group of connected companies (more than 50% common control), only one company can elect the lower first-tier rate each year. Hong Kong taxes only profits that arise in or are derived from Hong Kong, and whether yours do depends on your facts (IRD profits tax; two-tiered rates FAQ). Confirm with a Hong Kong tax adviser.

7. Around your first anniversary

File your annual return. The Companies Registry fee for a private company is HK$105 if the return is delivered within 42 days of the return date. Late fees rise in steps, up to HK$3,480 (Companies Registry fees).
Renew your business registration each year, or every 3 years. For certificates starting 1 Apr 2026 to 31 Mar 2027, a 3-year certificate costs HK$6,170 (fee plus levy) (IRD fee table).
Keep your registers current: directors, secretary, registered office and significant controllers.
Profits tax filing: timing of your first return depends on your facts. Confirm with a Hong Kong tax adviser.

Not covered in this checklist

Source-of-profits rules, tax on royalties paid to non-residents, transfer pricing, the foreign-sourced income exemption rules, stamp duty, Mandatory Provident Fund and other employer registrations, visa fees and indirect taxes. Get advice from a Hong Kong tax adviser and confirm with counsel before you structure or price the business.

Official sources (as of October 2026)

Disclaimer: This guide is provided for general information only, as of October 2026, without any warranty of accuracy or completeness. It is not legal, tax or regulatory advice, it is not a substitute for advice from a solicitor qualified to practise in Hong Kong or a Hong Kong tax adviser, and it creates no solicitor-client or other professional relationship. Where we say "no license path identified in published sources", that does not mean no licence is required. Links to government and third-party websites are for reference only and are not endorsements.