- Hong Kong registered a record 195,343 new local and re-domiciled companies in 2025.
- The register reached 1,609,720 local companies at 30 June 2026, an all-time high.
- In 2025, 99,406 companies were dissolved, against 195,343 new ones registered.
- A third of Hong Kong start-up founders in 2025 were non-locals.
Hong Kong company formation statistics hit a new high in 2025, and 2026 is running faster still. If you’re about to set up a company here, you’re joining the busiest stretch the Companies Registry has recorded.
In 2025, 195,343 new local and re-domiciled companies were registered, according to the Companies Registry, and 180,041 more local companies were incorporated in the first nine months of 2026. The register reached 1,609,720 local companies at the end of June 2026. If you’re about to incorporate a Hong Kong company, the last sections explain what the numbers mean in practice.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- How many companies are incorporated in Hong Kong each year
- How many are on the register, and how many close
- How many businesses hold a business registration
- Who is starting companies in Hong Kong
- How to read the official figures without mixing up periods
How many companies are incorporated in Hong Kong each year?
Hong Kong registered a record 195,343 new companies in 2025, and 2026 is on a faster pace still. New incorporations have risen every year since a dip in 2022.
| Year | Private | Guarantee | Public | Re-domiciled | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 98,368 | 959 | 78 | 0 | 99,405 |
| 2021 | 109,745 | 1,034 | 61 | 0 | 110,840 |
| 2022 | 103,105 | 976 | 39 | 0 | 104,120 |
| 2023 | 131,057 | 1,137 | 52 | 0 | 132,246 |
| 2024 | 143,832 | 1,142 | 79 | 0 | 145,053 |
| 2025 | 194,125 | 1,119 | 93 | 6 | 195,343 |
| 2026 (Jan to Sep) | 179,057 | 920 | 64 | 49 | 180,090 |
Source: Companies Registry incorporation statistics, calendar years, fetched 21 October 2026. Totals include re-domiciled companies; re-domiciliation began on 23 May 2025. Excluding them, 180,041 local companies were incorporated from January to September 2026.
- A record year: the 195,343 new companies in 2025 were about 35% more than in 2024 and nearly double the 2020 total.
- Almost all private: private companies made up about 99% of new companies in 2025. Guarantee companies run at about 1,000 to 1,150 a year, and public companies at under 100.
- 2026 has already passed 2024: the 180,041 local companies incorporated from January to September 2026 exceed the 145,053 for the whole of 2024. We don’t project a full-year figure.
- A faster monthly pace: 2026 has averaged about 20,000 local incorporations a month, against about 16,300 in 2025.
Percentages and averages are calculated from Companies Registry figures.
How many companies were incorporated each month in 2026?
March has been the busiest month so far, with 25,237 local incorporations, and February the quietest, with 12,812.
| Month (2026) | Local incorporations |
|---|---|
| January | 22,135 |
| February | 12,812 |
| March | 25,237 |
| April | 19,980 |
| May | 19,369 |
| June | 22,948 |
| July | 20,825 |
| August | 18,253 |
| September | 18,482 |
| Total | 180,041 |
Source: Companies Registry monthly statistics. Excludes re-domiciled companies.
How many companies are registered in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong had 1,609,720 local companies on its register at 30 June 2026, an all-time high. Another 16,014 non-Hong Kong companies were registered at the same date. Both counts have risen at every date in the table below.
| As at | Local companies on the register | Non-Hong Kong companies registered |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Mar 2025 | 1,471,689 | 15,346 |
| 31 Dec 2025 | 1,557,103 | 15,586 |
| 30 Jun 2026 | 1,609,720 | 16,014 |
Sources: Companies Registry fact sheet (September 2025); HKSAR Government press releases of 16 January 2026 and 17 July 2026.
- Growth in 2025: the register added 96,609 local companies over the year.
- Growth in the first half of 2026: it added another 52,617, calculated from the end-2025 and end-June 2026 totals.
- Why growth trails new incorporations: companies also leave the register through deregistration, striking off and winding up.
- Mostly private companies: at 31 March 2025, the register held 1,452,783 private companies (about 99%), 17,868 companies limited by guarantee and 1,038 public companies.
What are non-Hong Kong companies?
Non-Hong Kong companies are incorporated overseas and have set up a place of business in Hong Kong. They must register with the Companies Registry within one month of doing so. Their number is small but still rising:
- Where they come from: 81 countries or regions, as at 31 March 2025.
- 2025: 1,532 registered and 1,069 ceased or were dissolved, a net gain of 463 (calculated).
- First half of 2026: 903 newly registered.
- Latest count: 16,153 at 31 August 2026, up from 16,014 at 30 June (non-Hong Kong company statistics).
"On the register" counts every local company that hasn't been dissolved at a given date. "Incorporated" counts new companies in a period. The register grows only when incorporations outpace closures.
How many Hong Kong companies close each year?
99,406 Hong Kong companies were dissolved in 2025, about half the number incorporated that year. Most closed through deregistration (69,358) or striking off (28,783), and 1,265 were dissolved after liquidation.
| Year | Deregistered | Struck off | After liquidation | Total dissolved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 55,400 | 35,833 | 902 | 92,135 |
| 2021 | 63,339 | 59,747 | 1,063 | 124,150 |
| 2022 | 52,846 | 34,319 | 1,067 | 88,232 |
| 2023 | 60,672 | 32,255 | 1,075 | 94,002 |
| 2024 | 80,891 | 34,307 | 875 | 116,073 |
| 2025 | 69,358 | 28,783 | 1,265 | 99,406 |
| 2026 (Jan to Sep) | 49,146 | 58,980 | 835 | 108,964 |
Source: Companies Registry dissolution statistics, Number of Dissolution, calendar years, fetched 21 October 2026. Totals include a few cases the Registry classes as “others” (1 in 2021, 3 in 2026).
- New companies outpaced closures: 195,343 new companies against 99,406 dissolutions in 2025 is a gap of about 96,000. That’s close to the register’s growth of 96,609 that year.
- 2026 closures have already passed 2025: the 108,964 dissolutions from January to September 2026 exceed the whole of 2025.
- Driven by strike-offs: 58,980 companies were struck off in the first nine months of 2026, against 28,783 in all of 2025 and close to the 2021 full-year figure of 59,747. The source doesn’t give reasons, so we don’t suggest any.
- Liquidation is rare: about 1% of companies dissolved in 2025 closed after liquidation.
Gaps and shares are calculated from Companies Registry figures.
How do Hong Kong companies close?
- Deregistration: a voluntary route for a solvent private company, or company limited by guarantee, that has stopped business. See deregistering a company.
- Striking off: started by the Registrar when it has reasonable cause to believe a company isn’t in operation. A struck-off company can sometimes be brought back; see restoring a struck-off company.
- Liquidation: the company is wound up, either voluntarily by its members or creditors, or by court order.
Voluntary winding-ups started in the Registry’s figures:
| Type | 2025 | 2026 (Jan to Aug) |
|---|---|---|
| Members’ voluntary winding-up (solvent) | 695 | 377 |
| Creditors’ voluntary winding-up (insolvent) | 104 | 104 |
Source: Companies Registry liquidation statistics, fetched 21 October 2026.
Court-ordered winding-ups are reported separately by the Official Receiver’s Office. They count companies entering liquidation, not companies dissolved, so they don’t compare directly with the table above.
The Companies Registry's annual report also publishes closures by financial year (April to March). The tables on this page use calendar years, so don't mix the two.
How many businesses are registered in Hong Kong?
1,591,678 businesses held a business registration in Hong Kong at 31 March 2025. This count covers every type of business, including sole proprietorships and partnerships, so it measures something different from the Companies Register.
| As at 31 March | Corporations | Unincorporated businesses | Total business registrations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1,296,745 | 281,162 | 1,577,907 |
| 2025 | 1,324,154 | 267,524 | 1,591,678 |
Source: Inland Revenue Department Annual Report 2024-25, Business Registration. Unincorporated businesses are sole proprietorships and partnerships.
- Corporations up: 27,409 more than a year earlier, a rise of about 2%.
- Unincorporated businesses down: 13,638 fewer, a fall of about 5%. They now make up about one in six business registrations.
- Total up slightly: 13,771 more business registrations overall, a rise of about 1%.
Changes and shares are calculated from IRD figures.
Business registration vs the Companies Register
- Business registration: anyone carrying on a business in Hong Kong must register it with the IRD’s Business Registration Office within one month of starting, whatever the business structure.
- Companies Register: companies also register with the Companies Registry. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships register only with the IRD.
- The two counts don’t line up: the IRD’s 1,324,154 corporations at 31 March 2025 is lower than the 1,471,689 local companies on the Companies Register at the same date. Don’t subtract one from the other to estimate the number of sole proprietorships.
If you’re deciding which structure to register, the choice affects your personal liability and how you’re taxed; see limited company vs sole proprietorship.
Who is starting companies in Hong Kong?
Official figures don’t record who sets up each new company, but two government surveys give a picture. A third of start-up founders surveyed by InvestHK in 2025 were non-locals, and a record 11,070 companies in Hong Kong had parent companies outside Hong Kong.
Start-up founders
- Start-ups: 5,221 in 2025, up 11% on 2024, employing 19,753 people (up 12%).
- Founders: 67% Hong Kong locals, 33% non-locals and 1% returnees. About half of non-local founders (52%) came from the Chinese Mainland.
- Top sectors: FinTech (591 start-ups), information, computer and technology (529) and biotechnology (326).
Source: InvestHK Startup Survey 2025. The survey covers start-ups identified by InvestHK, not every new company. Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Companies with parent companies overseas
11,070 companies in Hong Kong had parent companies outside Hong Kong in 2025, up 11% on the year before.
| Parent company location | Companies in Hong Kong (2025) |
|---|---|
| Chinese Mainland | 3,090 |
| United States | 1,550 |
| Japan | 1,550 |
| United Kingdom | 770 |
| Singapore | 590 |
| All locations | 11,070 |
Source: HKSAR Government press release, 26 January 2026. Top five locations shown.
How companies are being set up
- Mostly online: about 72% of incorporation applications in 2024-25 were filed through the Companies Registry’s e-Services Portal (Companies Registry Annual Report 2024-25).
- Re-domiciliation: since 23 May 2025, companies incorporated elsewhere can move their place of incorporation to Hong Kong. By end-June 2026 there had been 70 applications and 42 companies re-domiciled (HKSAR Government press release, 17 July 2026). The Registry’s monthly figures show 55 re-domiciled by end-September 2026.
To move an existing overseas company to Hong Kong, see company re-domiciliation.
What do these numbers mean for founders?
Setting up a Hong Kong company is routine and mostly done online, but closing is common too. In 2025, about one company was dissolved for every two incorporated, so plan for the company’s whole life, not just the first filing. The points below are our reading of the figures, not findings stated by the sources.
- Know your costs first: government fees alone are HK$3,895 with online filing and a one-year business registration, before a company secretary or registered address. See the full cost of setting up a company.
- Check your name early: with about 20,000 new companies a month in 2026, run a free name search on the Companies Registry’s website and have a second choice ready. A name that’s the same as an existing company’s will be rejected.
- File online: about seven in ten incorporation applications in 2024-25 were filed electronically. Founders based abroad can incorporate from overseas without travelling to Hong Kong.
- Budget for yearly duties: every company needs a company secretary, a business registration renewal and annual return filing each year.
- Close properly if you stop trading: deregistration is the tidy route for a solvent company. Leaving a company to be struck off isn’t a clean exit, because any property it still holds passes to the Government.
How should you read Hong Kong company statistics?
Check four things before you quote a figure: the period, what’s being counted, whether re-domiciled companies are included, and when a closure is recorded.
- Calendar or financial year: most figures on this page are calendar years. The e-filing share and the IRD’s business registration counts follow the April-to-March financial year, so don’t compare them directly with calendar-year totals.
- What’s being counted: “incorporated” counts new companies in a period, and “on the register” counts every local company not yet dissolved at a date. Business registrations are a third count, held by the IRD, and cover sole proprietorships and partnerships too.
- Re-domiciled companies: the annual table and government press releases include them in the total. The 2026 monthly table lists them separately. For example, the 2025 total of 195,343 includes 6, while the 180,041 for January to September 2026 excludes 49.
- When a closure is counted: a deregistered or struck-off company is dissolved when the Registrar’s final notice is published in the Gazette, at least three months after the first Gazette notice. The count shows when the process ended, not when the company stopped trading.
When these figures change: the Companies Registry updates its monthly statistics each month and issues half-year and full-year press releases each July and January. We update this page after each release; the next full-year figures are due in January 2027.
How can Sleek help you set up in Hong Kong?
If the numbers have you ready to join them, Sleek handles incorporation, company secretary services and annual filings for Hong Kong companies.
With Sleek, you can:
- Incorporate online: set up a Hong Kong company without visiting the Registry.
- Set up from overseas: remote incorporation for founders based outside Hong Kong.
- Keep the yearly filings on time: company secretary support and annual return filing in one place.
- Plan the whole life cycle: from incorporation through to closing properly if you stop trading.
If you’re weighing up your options, talk to an incorporation specialist before you file.
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FAQs about Hong Kong company formation statistics
Can foreigners set up a company in Hong Kong?
Yes. Hong Kong allows non-residents to own and direct a local company, and a third of start-up founders in 2025 were non-locals. You can set one up online without visiting.
Do the incorporation figures include re-domiciled companies?
It depends on the table. The annual table and the government press releases include re-domiciled companies in the total: 6 of the 195,343 new companies in 2025. The Companies Registry’s 2026 monthly table lists them separately, so the 180,041 local incorporations from January to September 2026 exclude 49 re-domiciled companies.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the Companies Registry, the HKSAR Government, the Inland Revenue Department and InvestHK. Incorporation, register and dissolution figures come from the Registry’s statistics pages, fact sheet and press releases. Business registration figures come from the IRD’s Annual Report 2024-25, and start-up figures from InvestHK’s Startup Survey 2025.
