- Foreigners can own 100% of a Hong Kong company. There’s no residency or nationality requirement, and you can incorporate entirely remotely.
- You need at least one director and one shareholder (which can be the same person), a Hong Kong-resident company secretary, and a local registered address.
- Government fees from 1 April 2026 are HK$3,895 (HK$1,545 company registration plus HK$2,350 business registration).
- The two real friction points are the mandatory local secretary and address, and opening a bank account as a non-resident.
- You don’t need a visa to own or run the company from abroad; you only need one if you want to relocate to Hong Kong.
- Ownership: 100% foreign ownership allowed; no local partner or local director required
- Setup: fully remote, with documents signed and filed online
- Mandatory local roles: a Hong Kong-resident company secretary and a registered address
- Government cost: about HK$3,895 from 1 April 2026, plus a provider package
- Visa: not needed to own or run the company from abroad
Starting a business in Hong Kong as a foreigner is far more open than most overseas founders expect. You can own 100% of the company, act as its sole director, and set the whole thing up without ever flying in.
If you’re researching this from abroad and wondering whether it’s even allowed, the short version is reassuring: Hong Kong is one of the most open jurisdictions in the world for non-resident founders.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- Whether a foreigner can start and own a Hong Kong business
- Exactly what you need: directors, shareholders, secretary and address
- How the remote incorporation process works, step by step
- The honest picture on opening a bank account as a non-resident
- What it costs, how overseas founders are taxed, and when a visa is needed
Can a foreigner start a business in Hong Kong?
Yes. Under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), there’s no nationality or residency requirement for the directors or shareholders of a Hong Kong company. A foreign national can own 100% of the shares, act as the sole director, and never set foot in Hong Kong.
You don’t need a local partner. You don’t need a locally resident director. That’s a genuine advantage over jurisdictions like Singapore.
What the law does require is a small local footprint: a Hong Kong-resident company secretary and a registered office address in Hong Kong. These are the only “local presence” rules. Everything else, from ownership to day-to-day control, can sit entirely with you, wherever you live.
What do you need as a foreign founder?
You need very little to qualify. Most of it can be one person: you.
A standard private company limited by shares needs a director, a shareholder, a company secretary, a registered address and a designated representative for its controllers register.
Requirement | What the rule says | Can Sleek provide? |
|---|---|---|
Director | At least one natural person aged 18+, any nationality, no residency needed | Advisory |
Shareholder | At least one (up to 50); 100% foreign ownership allowed; can be the same person as the director | Advisory |
Company secretary | Mandatory; a Hong Kong-resident individual or a TCSP-licensed local body; can’t be the sole director | Yes |
Registered address | Yes | |
Designated representative | A contact for the Significant Controllers Register; a resident person or a licensed professional | Yes |
Share capital | No real minimum; companies are commonly formed with as little as HK$1 | Advisory |
The one structural rule to remember: if you’re the sole director, you can’t also be the company secretary. That second role has to be a separate Hong Kong-resident person or a licensed firm. That’s why most foreign founders use a provider.
How do I register a Hong Kong company as a foreigner, step by step?
You file it yourself through the Companies Registry’s e-Services Portal at e-services.cr.gov.hk. It runs 24/7. You don’t need to be in Hong Kong, and for a straightforward private company the certificates land within about an hour. Here’s the full sequence, start to finish.
Step 1: Choose your structure and secure a company name
For almost every foreign founder, the right vehicle is a private company limited by shares: limited liability, 100% foreign ownership, simple to run.
- Choose a name ending in “Limited”, 有限公司, or both.
- Run a free Exact Name Search on the Companies Registry’s e-Search Services before you commit — an identical name gets rejected and the lodgement fee isn’t refunded.
- Avoid sensitive words like “bank”, “trust” or “Chamber of Commerce” unless you’ve already got separate approval.
Step 2: Line up your local essentials before you file
You can’t submit the form without these three things in place:
- Company secretary — a Hong Kong-resident individual or a licensed firm. It can’t be you if you’re the sole director.
- Registered office address — a real Hong Kong address that can receive official mail, not a PO box.
- Designated representative — a contact for the Significant Controllers Register.
If you’ve got no resident contact of your own, this is the one piece overseas founders typically outsource. Everything else below, you can do yourself.
Step 3: Create your e-Services Portal account
- Go to e-services.cr.gov.hk, register as an Individual User, then subscribe to e-Filing Services.
- Verify your identity with your passport — no Hong Kong ID needed.
- Register with an email you actually monitor. It’s the account you’ll use to file, pay, and download your certificates.
Step 4: Complete Form NNC1 and adopt your articles
Log in, select Incorporation > Local Company, and fill in the web-based Form NNC1 (the incorporation form for a company limited by shares).
- The form captures your company name, registered address, share capital, and the details of every director, shareholder, the company secretary and the designated representative.
- For the articles of association, the portal gives you a sample set and auto-fills your company details — enough for most companies.
- Only upload custom articles (a PDF under 5 MB) if you genuinely need bespoke terms.
Step 5: Add the business registration notice and choose your BR term
The portal bundles company registration and business registration into one submission, so you also complete the Notice to Business Registration Office (Form IRBR1).
- Choose a one-year or three-year Business Registration Certificate.
- Pick the three-year option if you’d rather lock today’s fee and skip an annual renewal.
Step 6: Pay the fees and submit
Settle the government charges online, then submit:
- HK$1,545 for incorporation (e-filing)
- HK$2,350 for a one-year Business Registration Certificate
- HK$3,895 in total from 1 April 2026
For a straightforward private company with an acceptable name, the Companies Registry normally issues your Certificate of Incorporation and Business Registration Certificate within one hour — both as PDFs in your portal message box.
Step 7: Download your certificates and set up statutory compliance
Download both certificates promptly and keep your own saved copies; they’re delivered to your portal message box. Your company now legally exists and can sign contracts and open accounts.
Straight away, set up the statutory basics:
- Keep a Significant Controllers Register at your registered office.
- Maintain your statutory registers.
- Display the company name and Business Registration Certificate where required.
Then diary two recurring dates:
- Annual return (Form NAR1) — due within 42 days of each incorporation anniversary.
- Business Registration Certificate renewal — every year, or every three if you chose the longer term.
That’s the whole process, and you can run it yourself from anywhere. If you’d rather not manage the filing and the local roles, Sleek’s foreign incorporation services covers the same sequence — name check, secretary, address, filing and certificates — end to end.
Open a digital account first, then run a traditional-bank application in parallel. Traditional banks often want to see the company is genuinely active before they approve. A few months of real transactions through your digital account can strengthen the later application, especially if you also keep early invoices and contracts on hand.
Why are a company secretary and registered address required?
They exist so the company is reachable and compliant inside Hong Kong, even when its owners aren’t. The company secretary keeps your statutory records, files the annual return, and makes sure deadlines are met. The law requires the role and says a sole director can’t fill it, so it has to be a resident individual or a licensed firm.
The registered address is the official address the government, banks and the courts use to reach the company. It must be a real Hong Kong address, not a PO box.
For an overseas founder, these aren’t obstacles so much as the two things you outsource on day one. A provider supplies a qualified secretary and a registered address as part of the package. That’s how a company with no physical office in Hong Kong stays compliant.
Can I open a business bank account from overseas?
This is the honest hurdle. Hong Kong company formation is easy for non-residents. The bank account is the hard part.
Traditional banks apply strict know-your-customer checks and often want to understand your business substance. Some still prefer a face-to-face meeting, which is difficult if you can’t travel.
In practice, you have two routes:
- Digital and fintech accounts (for example Airwallex or Aspire) are usually the realistic option for a remote founder. Onboarding is online, and approval is faster, though features differ from a full bank.
- Traditional banks offer the fullest service but are harder to open remotely, and a rejection is common without the right preparation or an introduction.
How much does it cost to set up?
Government fees come to about HK$3,895 for the first year from 1 April 2026. Then you add a provider package on top. The official charges break down like this:
Government fee (from 1 Apr 2026) | Amount |
|---|---|
Company registration (incorporation, e-filing) | HK$1,545 |
Business Registration Certificate (1 year) | HK$2,350 |
Total government fees | HK$3,895 |
A three-year Business Registration Certificate is available for HK$6,170 if you’d rather pay less often. On top of government fees, a provider package typically bundles the company secretary, registered address and incorporation filing into one annual fee.
How are overseas founders taxed in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong taxes on a territorial basis. That’s the main draw for international founders. Only profits that arise in or are derived from Hong Kong are taxable, and profits genuinely sourced offshore can be exempt.
Profits tax itself is low: 8.25% on the first HK$2 million of assessable profits and 16.5% above that. There’s no VAT, no capital gains tax and no withholding tax on dividends.
The catch is that “offshore” is a claim you have to support, not an automatic status. You still file a profits tax return, and you keep evidence showing where the profit-generating activity actually happened.
The IRD usually issues your company's first profits tax return about 18 months after incorporation. That's when an offshore claim is first tested. Start keeping the proof from day one: contracts, emails and invoices that show where deals were negotiated and decisions were made. Reconstructing that evidence a year and a half later is where many offshore claims fall down.
Do you need a visa to start or run the company?
No, not if you’re running it from abroad. Owning and directing a Hong Kong company doesn’t require you to be in Hong Kong. A foreign founder can incorporate and govern the business remotely without any visa at all.
You only need a visa if you want to relocate to Hong Kong and work in the business. There are three usual routes:
- Investment as Entrepreneurs (under the General Employment Policy): there’s no fixed minimum investment amount. The Immigration Department assesses your business plan, the capital you’re putting in, local jobs created, and your contribution to Hong Kong’s economy.
- Employment visa sponsored by your own company for a genuine, paid role you’ll actually fill.
- Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS): a points-based route with no annual quota since 1 January 2023. You score against either the General Points Test or the Achievement-based Points Test before applying.
The entrepreneur route grants an initial stay of 3 years (a 3+3+2 renewal pattern since 28 December 2022), renewable while the business stays genuine. Immigration is a separate process from incorporation, so check the Immigration Department’s investment-as-entrepreneurs guidance for the current criteria.
Should foreign founders choose Hong Kong or Singapore?
Both are strong. The right pick depends on where your business and customers sit.
Hong Kong tends to win for Mainland China access, 100% foreign ownership with no resident-director rule, and a simple territorial tax system. Singapore appeals to founders focused on Southeast Asia who don’t mind appointing a local resident director.
If you’re weighing the two, our Hong Kong vs Singapore for founders comparison runs through the fees, tax and setup side by side.
How Sleek sets up your Hong Kong company remotely
Because we bundle incorporation, company secretary, registered address and bank-account support into one service, an overseas founder can get set up through a single provider without travelling.
With Sleek, you can:
- Complete Hong Kong incorporation for foreigners entirely online, with 100% foreign ownership
- Have your mandatory company secretary and registered address provided and kept compliant
- Get support opening a business bank account as a non-resident
- Start a Hong Kong company the standard way if you later add local partners, the same way any founder would incorporate a Hong Kong company
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