Under the latest Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2018, effective from 1st of March 2018, every HK corporation is required to keep its Significant Controllers Register (SCR) for identifying the particulars of those who have significant control over the company (a.k.a. significant controllers), and it should be accessible by law enforcement.

Ensure your company has well fulfilled this requirement to stay away from Govt penalty!
 

According the latest Companies (Amendment) Ordinance, every company should get their Significant Controllers Register ready on or before 1st March 2018.

Who’s a Significant Controller of the Company?

A significant controller includes -

• a registrable person who is a natural person;
   
• a registrable legal entity which is a shareholder of the company

The person holds directly or indirectly more than 25% of the issued shares in the company. One scenario needs your attention is that even your company B is owned by another mother company A or it has more than 25% of the shares of company B, then the owner of mother company A should be identified as the significant controller of company B by owning more than 25% of the shares of company B indirectly.

What to Include & Where to Keep the SCR?

The SCR should contain the required particulars of every significant controller(s) and designated representative of the company. Every company must appoint at least one person located in HK as designated representative to provide assistance relating to the SCR of the company to law enforcement officers. The SCR can be kept at the registered office of the company or the same place as the register of members or any other place in HK by submitting a declaration form within 15 days after the SCR is first kept at that place.

We can act as your Designated Representative for the SCR to save your time and hassles.

What Should I Do Next?

You should have all required particulars on the SCR well-ready before 1st March 2018 (if not, please act fast). Then, start keeping your company’s SCR at one place and coordinate with your designated representative to provide assistance relating to the SCR to law enforcement officers at any inspections.

If you’re not sure about how to comply with this Govt requirement properly based on your case background, feel free to chat live with our company secretary team here today for further support. Rest assured the documents will be managed in good hands and safely guarded.

Our Company Secretarial Service Package Already Includes:

1. Prepare the SCR under the Govt required format, keep it at the registered office address (please find location details here: Bridges Registered Office) and act as your company’s designated representative for the SCR.

2. Help prepare the required paperwork if the SCR is neither kept at your registered office address nor same place as the register of members.

3. Other company secretarial compliance like filing of Annual Return, etc.

As said at the beginning, under this mandatory requirement from the HK Companies Registry, every company incorporated in HK is required to keep its Significant Controllers Register, no matter the company’s significant controller is a registrable person or a legal entity.

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* Failure to comply with the above obligations is a criminal offence, meaning the company and every responsible person of the company will be liable to a fine at level 4 (i.e. HK$25,000). Where applicable, there is also a further daily fine of HK$700 (e.g. the situation happens continuously). Please refer to: HK Companies Registry for more details. All information contained here shall be subject to the final announcement by the HKSAR Govt and the Companies Registry.

Wanted to start a business but felt puzzled with the bank part? Wondering if there are other options besides opening a bank account in those traditional banks? Any way to shorten your time in waiting for a bank account to be opened? Any means to get a bank account more conveniently? The answers to these questions now are YES! YES! YES!

Two rising stars today you might have heard of are: Neat and Currenxie. Both Neat and Currenxie are emerging solutions offering an alternative to a traditional bank account. The platforms have become more and more popular among our clients, especially those who target to operate their business right away with instant money transactions by having a dedicated Hong Kong bank account number. One huge benefit of these two alternatives is that the account setup process is a piece of cake - simple and quick.
 

The emerging banking alternatives provide more convenience to start-ups like quick signup and real-time transactions dashboard.

1. Heard of ‘Neat’ but Why It’s a Hit?

You may have heard of getting a Neat current account here and there for receiving payments  from customers or online marketplaces like Stripe, PayPal and Amazon, and sending your money to third-party accounts like paying invoices / employees / suppliers. Here are more for you to know how it works: 

• Fast : It just takes 10 - 15 minutes to complete Neat account signup, and you can save your application anytime and finish it later. Your account can be opened in as little time as a week via our express signup link (please find the link at the bottom of this article) for you to start corporate money in and out quick.
   
• Simple : You are NOT REQUIRED to be in HK! (This is a huge advantage for overseas entrepreneurs.) Basically if your submitted documents can fulfill the requirements, you can then get the account remotely, not necessarily to visit HK, nor visit Neat.
   
• Cost-Effective : While you may have heard many traditional banks need to charge  account setup fees / maintenance fees, and demand a substantial amount of deposit, Neat is not charging any setup fees nor maintenance fees, and deposit is not required too. Sounds good huh? That’s the reason why some start-up clients will sign up a Neat account upon finishing their incorporation, treating as an instant and backup solution to accompany with their traditional bank account application.
   
• MasterCard® Available : Getting a corporate MasterCard® (debit card) will be a big-plus to your business, like using it online and offline, in different currencies, anywhere in the world where MasterCard® is accepted. In fact many of you may know that it could be a little complex for start-ups to get a bank account from traditional banks, not to mention a corporate debit MasterCard.

2. What’s ‘Currenxie’? How It Works?

Currenxie account is another popular solution that our clients asked about, let’s see if we could give you the answers you need here:

• Fast : Currenxie has a team to review and approve the account application. So pretty much the account process runs 24/7 and you can get your account opened in just 24 hours the fastest.
   
• Simple : Similarly like Neat, when applying for an account, all you need to do is to fill-up the online application form, submit the required documents, and sit back in front of your desk to wait for assessment and approval.
   
• Operation-Effective : There are different types of accounts for fitting your needs, from local business to world-wide business. Currenxie offers transactions in up to 18 currencies, which is quite beneficial to businesses that require a multi-currency account.
   
• Local SMEs Targeted : Currenxie values the local market a lot, especially here in HK. If you own a HK corporation or planning to enter the Asia’s market, Currenxie will have an experienced support team available to answer your questions and support your needs, like sending your money to bank accounts in China or worldwide.

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After knowing more of the specific features of both Neat & Currenxie accounts, have you figured out which type is the best fit for you and your business? If you have decided to apply for these current account services after a thorough assessment, here please find the free signup links dedicated to Bridges community members that do not require to queue up in their waiting list:-

Currenxie account signup : please click here.

Neat account signup : please click here.

Still struggling on what to prepare for incorporation or which bank to pick? Shoot us an email at info@bridges.hk or just leave us a private message to get our practical advice and kickstart your HK business journey soon!

As time passes by, Hong Kong remains as the Hottest Pick among global entrepreneurs for starting up their businesses or using this place as a stepping stone to unlock the opportunities in Asia.  Although it is nothing new that worldwide banks have set higher standards for account opening if compared to years ago, still, more and more companies manage to successfully open their corporate bank accounts by getting solid n’ comprehensive start-up assistance, as long as they have found someone they can trust to solve all their queries out, provide appropriate advice, and take care of  the whole application process with great attention.

In this article, we will take you inside the circle to see how your start-up venture and follow-up arrangement like bank account opening can be aided by the experienced and skillful business consultants in the market.

FASTER >> to Form All-New Limited Company

Whether you would like to set up an all-new company, or purchase a ready-made one as your HK business vehicle, the incorporation timeline is as FAST as 2 working days in here. In previous days, it takes longer (almost 10 days) to finish setting up an all-new company but now with our 2 DAYS EXPRESS services, your company can be up and running in a much shorter time.

What’s more, since most HK banks require clients to make the account opening bookings around 1 month in advance due to their full schedule, our consultants will help you make the bank appointments straightway once your company is being set up (in 2 days as mentioned above) and we have got your business registration no. from the Govt for providing to the bank, so as to speed up the whole process and let you operate with a corporate bank account as soon as possible.

EASIER >> to Set up Your Biz with Only 1 Person

When considering to gain a foothold in Asia, there are always two popular options popping up - HK and Singapore. Yet, HK’s flexibility is probably one of the biggest advantages for foreigners to take and start their business here as the first stop in Asia. As you might know, forming a Singapore company requires foreign entrepreneurs to partner up with a local Singapore citizen, while there is no limit on the nationality of the Director(s) and Shareholder(s) in setting up a HK company.  It means no matter what your nationality, you are free to form your own company in HK without the need to include a HK citizen as your company’s stakeholder, giving you high flexibility in the company structure.

Not to mention it takes only ONE person to form the HK company (meaning the Director and Shareholder can even be the same person), and the mandatory Company Secretary can be provided by us which is already included in our all-in-one HK Company Formation Package. Once you completed all the official registration process, the company can be ready before your visit to HK and meeting up with bankers.

MORE CONVENIENT >> to Open HK Bank Account

Here comes how we make the entire start-up procedures even more convenient. It’s generally recognized that HK topped the global ranking on banking and financial infrastructure for its secured monetary system, well-established legal regime and free currency exchange circulation (especially when compared with mainland cities), and that’s why many savvy entrepreneurs have picked HK as their base in Asia.

We understand the assessment criteria of opening a bank account in here is getting higher under the global trend (while the assessment criteria of worldwide banks is getting more rigorous too to prevent illegal operations like money laundering) and most of the applicants might not always be familiar with what to prepare and how to prepare to match up with ever-changing bank compliance. Hence, an experienced consultant can turn this whole situation around with the intensive know-how and extensive banking network, ultimately uplifting the account opening success rate for clients. For more details, please refer to another blog of us ‘How Your Bank Acc. Opening Success Rate Is Raised by a Skillful Consultant’ here: bit.ly/2vD15Wj.

Currently we work closely with HSBC, OCBC Wing Hang Bank, China Citic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Hang Seng Bank, DBS, Dah Sing Bank and different overseas banks, and we believe you will find your best option among them for operating your business in this place.

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Now you see how a competent consultant could ease your application pain and smoothen your ride in HK. Especially you wouldn’t want to waste time to get rejected over and over again so this is where a consultant can make a total difference.

Following our provided guidance, standing out from a bunch of account opening applicants, getting everything done in only one trip to HK... all these can be your personal experience with the support of BRIDGES consultant team, a group of experienced and reliable battlers in the field who will save your various hassles and time cost so you shall find having your own business in HK is not that difficult.

Still struggling on what to prepare for incorporation or which bank to pick? Shoot us an email at info@bridges.hk or just leave us a private message to get our practical advice and kickstart your HK business journey soon!