Using a Hong Kong Offshore Company to do Profitable Business

Posted by goldmillennium on April 10th, 2013

It is normal to find international companies to register offshore companies in low–tax jurisdictions. Hong Kong is one such province that gives more importance to its clean image and competitive tax rates. Registering an offshore company in Hong Kong is beneficial in numerous ways than just tax benefit. Some of the benefits of the Hong Kong offshore business set up are -

Trading companies can benefit from re-invoicing

Hong Kong is a leading center where goods are imported by a Hong Kong offshore company at a price and are re-invoiced at a higher price to an overseas buyer. In such deals, the shipment of the products is routed straight from the supplier to the buyer. The Hong Kong Company will also reissue the bill of lading to embody itself as the shipper and represent the port of origin as Hong Kong. By re-invoicing the trading company can conveniently hide the identity of the supplier and actual sourcing price. The tax free income earned from each transaction can be held in the bank account for further investments.

Investment and property Holding companies

Hong Kong does not impose tax on capital gains hence an offshore entity’s bank account can cumulate income and funds, free of tax and also earn interest on this amount. The offshore companies can maintain accounts in any currency they prefer. These entities can be used to buy and hold property, and in case of a change of ownership of property, transfer of the company shares can be done easily, with no additional expense in the form of stamp duties and legal fees.

As a holding company for China investment

Many companies are especially attracted to Hong Kong because of the potential it holds to provide good business opportunities. However, registering the company in Hong Kong will provide better opportunities for venturing into China. By doing so selling or restructuring China investment can get simpler when these changes are done at the holding company level. This is because going through the Chinese formalities will become a tedious job for foreign investors. Since double taxation agreement prevails between Hong Kong and China, the tax on dividends to be paid by a Chinese subsidiary to a Hong Kong parent enterprise is reduced from 20% to 5%.

To sum up, a Hong Kong company, which is well structured, can remarkably benefit with international operations due to the strategic geographical location to the China. . To understand the intricacies of laws and rules, it is advisable to take help from the experts in this field. Log on to find companies in this field which can give information on the same so that you avoid any legal issues in the future.

About the Author:

Mr. Javier Hernandez, CEO is an international lawyer with a Master’s in European Union Law, International Business Transaction and Commercial Law and Chinese Law. Mr. Hernandez has eight years of experience in China and specializes in the business and legal areas in China including laws related to company formation & representative office in China. He has published and gained recognition in several magazines, including the Tsinghua Enterprise Business School magazine, as well as European and American magazines.