Hong Kong aims for 1-day incorporation of new businesses

Hong Kong's Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) has announced the launch of the second phase of public consultation on the provisions of the Hong Kong Companies Bill as part of its ongoing effort to reform the Hong Kong company law, to enable new businesses be incorporated within one working day with an automatic income tax registration.

In order to make Hong Kong company law more business-friendly, the government has launched a comprehensive effort to rewrite the Companies Ordinance.

The Companies (Amendment) Bill 2010 and the Business Registration (Amendment) Bill 2010, which were gazetted in January 2010, will be introduced into the Legislative Council during 2010.

While the Companies Bill aims at enhancing company formation in Hong Kong, the Business Registration Bill will help in implementing a one-stop service for company incorporation (with the Companies Registry) and business registration (with the Inland Revenue Department). The new measures will help entrepreneurs with Hong Kong company registration  within one working day and simplify the regulatory regime for Hong Kong companies.

The first phase of public consultation on the Companies Bill ended in March 2010 and covered corporate governance matters and regulatory compliance.

Some of the proposed amendments included codifying directors' duties, restricting the appointment of corporate directors, improving disclosure of company information, streamlining accounting and reporting requirements for small and medium enterprises, removing the authorised capital requirement for Hong Kong company formation, enhancing shareholder participation, improving the enforcement regime for Hong Kong companies, and allowing companies to dispense with AGMs, among others.