Posts Tagged ‘representative office’
Did you invest in China?
Thursday, October 29th, 2009Chinese official says that a large amount of the global top companies have invested in China Since the mid-1990s, and more and more overseas companies have been making their way into Chinese market. The investment covers almost all fields like the manufacturing, service, and rural infrastructure construction sectors, ect. And meanwhile Chinese investment environment has been improving in a large scale which has attracted more and more foreign investors.
Even though the high-tech and trade service industries were most favored by foreign investors, projects funded by foreign companies involve oil, chemical, electronic, machinery, computer, telecommunication equipment, ect. Nearly 90 percent of the projects funded are located in coastal areas and cities such as Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Beijing and Shandong, ect.
For some new companies, they usually set up representative offices to do some market research and test the market before they commit themselves to invest in China. By using both the markets and resources from their own homes and China, these companies have remarkably improved their international competitiveness.
Hong Kong companies and China visa issues
Saturday, April 4th, 2009One question that we often get from our clients is whether registering a Hong Kong company can help in obtaining a business visa or a residence permit in China. The answer is NO. Although part of China now, Hong Kong is in reality a very separate jurisdiction, as per the “one country two systems” policy. Hong Kong companies are considered as foreign companies in China, and investment from Hong Kong into the mainland is considered as foreign investment. In that regard, operating a Hong Kong firm is not more helpful to get any visa facility for mainland China, than say a BVI or US company.
The proper way to get a one year residence permit in mainland China as an owner of a Hong Kong company, would therefore be to open a representative office in China for that company, if one doesn’t want to invest in a WFOE (wholly foreign owned enterprise). Obviously additional fees will apply. In most cities it will take about 4 to 6 weeks to process the representative office registration.
