New companies law brings right moves for growth
New companies law brings right moves for growth
Christopher Hui says companies wishing to relocate to Hong Kong can have their applications approved within two weeks. Photo: RTHK
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui said on Friday that a new law allowing overseas firms to re-domicile to Hong Kong will inject new momentum into growth.
His comments came as the SAR started accepting applications from firms incorporated overseas to relocate to the city while maintaining their legal identity and business continuity.
The company re-domiciliation regime was passed by the Legislative Council on May 14 and took effect from Friday.
Previously, companies that wanted to move to the city were required to wind up existing operations and shift all assets and transactions to the Hong Kong entity.
Under the new law, firms can move to the city while maintaining their legal identity and business continuity, which will help save on complex and costly legal procedures.
Following the move, French insurance giant AXA's Hong Kong and Macau arm was among the first batch of firms applying for such relocation.
Hui said in a post on his official blog he is glad that some firms have already reported they are actively preparing to apply for a relocation to Hong Kong.
"The new law has opened up a convenient path for interested companies to relocate to Hong Kong, while ensuring the safety and stability of the relocation process," he said.
"The continuous uncertainties in the global political and economic situation and the development of international market regulations have made Hong Kong's advantages more prominent.
"Relocating to Hong Kong will help enterprises cope with adverse factors in the external business environment."
Such applications, according to Hui, shall be examined and approved within two weeks if all required documents and materials are submitted.
He added that authorities will also provide appropriate support to the firms, while communicating with offshore jurisdictions to facilitate relocations.
Companies that are given approvals for the relocation will have a 120-day transitional period to complete the deregistration in its original place of incorporation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
an hour ago
- RTHK
HK 'sticking to its forecast for 2 to 3pc GDP growth'
HK 'sticking to its forecast for 2 to 3pc GDP growth' Financial Secretary Paul Chan says extreme caution is needed when rolling out new measures. Photo: RTHK Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Monday the government is maintaining its forecast for Hong Kong's GDP growth at two to three percent for the year amid a slight easing in international trade tensions. Speaking in a Legislative Council panel meeting, he said the Hong Kong economy expanded solidly in the first quarter, with GDP increasing by 3.1 percent year on year. External trade, one of the driving forces of economic growth, saw an outstanding performance, with the total exports of goods growing 8.4 percent. Chan said the government's GDP growth forecast for the year remains the same as that announced in his Budget. Some legislators expressed concerns over slow consumption among tourists and local residents, with Liberal Party lawmaker Michael Lee asking if the authorities have considered introducing policies to boost consumption. The financial secretary said estimates are for the consolidated government account to achieve a balance in the current financial year but that extreme caution is needed when rolling out new measures. "For the capital account, we have to accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis and our land sale revenues have not recovered, so we are under a fiscal deficit," he said. "We need two to three years' time to achieve a balance, including through the issuance of bonds. "If we need to introduce policies, we have to strike a balance between various aspects." Chan also said the unemployment rate was 3.4 percent between February and April, an increase from the 3.1 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of last year. He stressed that protecting local employment is always the priority and the authorities will make adjustments to labour importation programmes when necessary.
RTHK
2 hours ago
- RTHK
Mixed reactions to expansion of labour import scheme
Mixed reactions to expansion of labour import scheme A unionist said local technicians are worried too many imported workers will come to Hong Kong. File photo: RTHK A trade unionist on Monday said the government should make adjustments to an expanded labour import scheme to ensure local people get priority for jobs, while others welcomed the prospect of more skilled workers moving to the SAR. A three-year trial scheme covering eight types of workers including nurses, lift technicians and AI specialists will start at the end of this month. A total of 10,000 non-degree holders will be able to move to the territory for work, with a cap of 3,000 for each job type. A vice chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions, Lam Wai-kong, said on an RTHK programme that some people are concerned about their jobs as they think 3,000 is too much. "I think that each role's quota should be set at a certain percentage of local workers in that particular field," Lam said. "The quota should be set at less than five percent of the roles' workforce, say, for lift and escalator technicians, that would be around several hundred workers, and existing technicians wouldn't be too worried." Lam also expressed concern that incoming nurses wouldn't fill a shortage at care homes for the elderly because they might switch to medical roles elsewhere after a while. The Labour Advisory Board member went on to say that officials consulted the board around 10 days before last week's announcement of the trial scheme and not a lot of unions were able to take part in the process. On the same programme, the head of an aviation business chamber welcomed the scheme's expansion as it covers aircraft maintenance workers. Vivian Lau, president of the Airline Service Providers Association, said while some 600 workers have been imported in the sector in recent years, there remains a shortage with language ability one of the considerations for new staff. She expressed the hope that the scheme will attract technicians from Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and the Philippines. "We hope to fill not just today's demand, but to expand the workforce and improve the level of competency for technicians," Lau said. "Then we can snatch business away from other nearby airports." For her part, the life honorary chair of the Elderly Services Association, Grace Li, called on officials to simplify application procedures for importing nurses.
RTHK
4 hours ago
- RTHK
Early traffic spike shows Tai Lam Tunnel vision works
Early traffic spike shows Tai Lam Tunnel vision works Mable Chan says traffic at the Tai Lam Tunnel was up 10 percent on the first working day since the takeover. Photo: RTHK The secretary for transport and logistics said traffic on the first working day since the Tai Lam Tunnel takover, which went up by 10 percent, was within expectations. The rise came in the wee hours between midnight and 6 am on Monday after the government took over the tunnel on Saturday, when a new time-varying toll and a switchover to HKeToll were also implemented. Charges for all vehicle types were reduced by 22 to 80 percent under the new regime. Private cars are charged HK$45 during peak hours, HK$30 during regular periods and HK$18 during off-peak periods from Monday to Saturday. A flat rate of HK$18 is implemented throughout Sundays and public holidays. Speaking after a tunnel inspection, Mable Chan said she hopes the new arrangement can alleviate congestion on Tuen Mun Road by 5 percent. "Traffic was up by about 40 percent when compared to the average flow on Sundays," she said. "This was within our expectations because private cars are now charged HK$18, a significant drop on the previous HK$58 charge. "So far the traffic situation is within our expectations and under control. "We hope that cars will opt for Tai Lam Tunnel as this will help alleviate peak-hour congestion on Tuen Mun Road. "We hope traffic on Tuen Mun Road can be cut by 5 percent during peak hours." The Transport and Logistics Bureau will closely monitor the traffic situation, Chan said. The government, she added, will review charges for its tunnels and consider looking into those for Aberdeen and Shing Mun tunnels first as they have remained unchanged for years. It will also look into imposing a charge for the Central Kowloon Route that is set to be completed by the end of the year to recover costs, she said. She added that her bureau will brief lawmakers on the review on tunnel tolls this month.
