Hong Kong Company Registrations Hit Record High

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

21 January 2008

The Hong Kong government has announced that the number of new local companies registered last year hit a record high of 100,761 - up 22.92% on 2006.

Companies Registry statistics released at the weekend show that 748 new overseas companies established a place of business in Hong Kong and registered under the Companies Ordinance last year, up 23.03% on 2006.

The total number of live companies registered at the end of last year was 655,038, up 63,094 from the end of 2006. The total number of overseas companies stood at 8,081, 372 more than in 2006.

The number of charges on the assets of companies received last year was 38,506, up 26.88% on 2006. The number of satisfactions and releases received grew 12.09%, to 24,271 last year.

A total of 259 prospectuses, including 82 mutual funds, were registered, compared with 234 prospectuses, including 93 mutual funds, in 2006. The total number of documents received for filing during the year rose 12.06% to 1.94 million.

The total number of searches on document image records made through the registry's electronic search services last year rose 7.38% to 2.91 million. The search number on the computerised director index last year rose 23.11% to 187,264. The number of company particulars reports issued grew 9.72% to 134,631.

The total number of summonses issued by the Registrar of Companies last year against companies for breaches of the Companies Ordinance - mainly for failure to file annual returns - was 6,125, up 1.61% on 2006.

There were 2,190 convictions obtained last year, compared with 2,294 in 2006, and 1,009 cases remain to be heard by the courts. The total amount of fines imposed for convictions last year was $13.52 million, compared with $13.71 million in 2006.

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