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HKFP
18-07-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Official data show record-high company registration figures in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has logged record-high company registration figures, with close to 1.5 million local firms registered in the city as of June, according to the latest official data. The number of non-Hong Kong companies registered under the Companies Ordinance and opening offices in the city had also reached an all-time high of 15,509 by the end of June, the Companies Registry (CR) said on Friday. In the first half of this year, Hong Kong saw 84,293 newly registered local firms and 761 overseas companies set up a place of business in the city, the latest CR figures show. Close to 50,000 local companies deregistered, and 378 non-Hong Kong firms ceased to operate in the city over the same period, according to an HKFP tally based on the figures. The CR attributed the increase in company registrations to two amendments made to the Companies Ordinance in the first half of this year, which the government says aim at facilitating local business and attracting overseas enterprises and investments. The first amendment, effective April 17, has facilitated listed companies incorporated in Hong Kong to hold or sell the shares they have bought back from the market. The second amendment, effective May 23, has offered non-Hong Kong corporations a streamlined route to re-domicile in the city. Hong Kong has launched a drive to attract international business amid global trade uncertainty triggered by US President Donald Trump's tariff wars. Last month, Chief Executive John Lee likened the city's economic outreach efforts to 'chasing a girl.' Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries are Hong Kong's priority for deepening trade ties as the city is attempting to reduce its reliance on the US market, he said in the interview with the South China Morning Post. The CR did not provide a breakdown of the origins of the non-Hong Kong companies that have set up shop in the city. Unemployment figures Meanwhile, the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) said on Thursday that Hong Kong's latest unemployment rate stood at 3.5 per cent in the April to June period, while the underemployment rate also remained unchanged at 1.4 per cent. The number of unemployed persons was 136,200 in the April to June period, up 400 from the March to May period. Increases in the unemployment rate were mainly seen in the construction sector and the food and beverage sector, the C&SD said in a press release. The construction sector logged a 6.8 per cent unemployment rate in April to June – up 0.5 per cent from the March to May period. The latest figure for the food and beverage sector was 6 per cent – up 0.3 per cent from the previous period. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said that 'various industries in Hong Kong are undergoing transition,' but 'the continued expansion of the Hong Kong economy should provide support to the labour market.'
HKFP
16-06-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Int'l Domestic Workers Day: Hong Kong urged to toughen loan regulations to combat ‘excessive borrowing'
A group of NGOs and a pro-establishment lawmaker have urged the government to impose limits on unsecured personal loans to combat 'excessive borrowing' among migrant domestic workers and teenagers in Hong Kong. Chrystie Lam, president of the local NGO Coalition of Global Home Service Sustainable Development, said at a press conference on Sunday afternoon that the group had noticed more and more foreign domestic workers were involved in 'excessive borrowing,' Commercial Radio reported. Lam suggested that the government should strengthen regulations governing unsecured personal loans provided by licensed money lenders, with the maximum repayment capped at 30 per cent of a foreign worker's monthly salary. Lam also recommended that the repayment period should be similar to the remaining duration of the foreign worker's contract. And lenders should not grant the loan if there are fewer than than six months left on the contract, Lam added. Edward Leung – a lawmaker and a member of the pro-Beijing party Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) – and three local NGOs hosted a press conference on Sunday, the eve of International Domestic Workers Day. Leung said that, apart from domestic workers, teenagers in Hong Kong also suffered from 'excessive borrowing' as more and more online platforms target adolescents, according to a statement he issued. Public consultation to start in June Christopher Hui, the secretary for financial services and the treasury, announced last November that the government was planning to impose limits on loans that can be taken out at licensed money lenders. Hui said at the time that the government was working on a series of measures to combat 'excessive borrowing,' with a public consultation set to take place in the first half of 2025. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said in response to a lawmaker's question in May that the public consultation will commence in June. However, authorities are yet to announce the start date for the public consultation. According to the Companies Registry, a total of 214 complaints were received about money lenders in 2024. The figure marks a significant increase compared to that of 2023, which saw 109 complaints throughout the year. HKFP reported last July that many domestic workers also fall victim to unlicensed online lenders. Workers said that extortionate interest rates and campaigns of harassment from lenders left them terrified. Some workers told HKFP that they had to borrow money because they had been overcharged with recruitment fees before they arrived to Hong Kong, and they suffered financial pressure usually as the main – or even sole – family breadwinners.
