TL;DR
- 122,481 new companies registered in the first half of 2026, against 84,293 a year earlier, taking the register to 1,609,720, an all-time high.
- Re-domiciliation is being used: by end-June 2026, about 13 months after the regime opened, 42 companies had moved their place of incorporation to Hong Kong without winding up.
- The September 2026 Policy Address says a 5% or half-rate profits tax concession may be offered, case by case, to companies setting up headquarters and supply chain operations here.
- Beneficial ownership transparency legislation is coming. Companies with a proper Significant Controllers Register should have little to do.
- Government fees for a new company filed electronically: HK$3,895. Allow about a week end to end.
Re-domiciliation is working
Hong Kong's company re-domiciliation regime opened on 23 May 2025. It lets a company incorporated somewhere else move its place of incorporation to Hong Kong without winding up and starting again. No new legal entity is created, so its history, property, contracts and liabilities carry over, though each bank will decide what updated paperwork it wants for the accounts. By the end of June 2026, roughly 13 months in, the Registry had received 70 applications and 42 companies had completed the move, including two insurers and one listed company, from the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Bermuda among others.
For a group with an offshore holding company that has outlived its usefulness, this is the cleanest route we know to a Hong Kong entity. A BVI or Cayman company set up for tax reasons a decade ago can now cost more in economic substance compliance than it saves. Re-domiciling brings it onshore, where the Inland Revenue Department treats it as a Hong Kong-incorporated company that can apply for a Certificate of Resident Status and claim treaty benefits.
Cheaper tax for the operations Hong Kong wants
The Policy Address says a tax concession of 5 per cent, or half-rate (8.25 per cent), may be offered under the government's preferential packages for attracting enterprises, depending on the enterprise's investment plan and actual contribution to Hong Kong's economy. The target is high value-added companies setting up headquarters or regional headquarters here to manage supply chain and sourcing operations. Alongside it, a corporate treasury centre bill is expected in the first half of 2027, and a half-rate concession for physical commodity trading is already before the Legislative Council.
What's changed is that concessions now follow the value an enterprise brings as well as its sector. The word in the Policy Address is "may" and the qualifying conditions haven't been published, so nobody should budget on 5 per cent until they have an offer in writing. Singapore's Development and Expansion Incentive also starts at 5 per cent, so a group that qualifies here would match Singapore's best rate and sit well below the standard 16.5 per cent.
Mainland companies going out through Hong Kong
The GoGlobal Task Force, set up in October 2025, has helped more than 340 Mainland companies with listing, fundraising, certification and compliance, and about 30 per cent of them position Hong Kong as their regional or international headquarters or corporate treasury centre. The Policy Address says the task force will improve its matching of companies with Hong Kong professional service providers and keep track of individual cases. For a corporate services firm like ours that's a source of work, and for a Mainland business it's a structured way in.
Beneficial ownership rules are coming
The Policy Address confirmed a public consultation this year on legislation to enhance beneficial ownership transparency for companies and express trusts, to meet current international anti-money-laundering standards. Hong Kong already requires companies incorporated or re-domiciled here, other than listed ones, to keep a Significant Controllers Register at the registered office or another notified place in Hong Kong, open to law enforcement officers on demand.
The proposal hasn't been published, so this part is only our guess. The obvious direction is a central register of the kind the UK runs through Companies House, in which case a company whose register is complete and current should have little to do, and one that never set a register up will be building it against a deadline.
Founders are being invited
On talent, the government will explore adding AI categories to the Talent List, and in the first half of 2027 it plans to relax Top Talent Pass visa extensions for people running technology start-ups. Proprietors of start-ups supported by designated public sector organisations won't have to show proof of company income when they extend. Founders who move here tend to incorporate here, and we think that's part of why the register keeps growing.
Money for SMEs that want to grow outward
The Easy BUD ceiling rose from HK$100,000 to HK$150,000 per application on 15 June 2026, with the government funding up to a quarter of the project cost. BUD's funding scope includes setting up a new business entity in the Mainland or another covered market, professional fees included, capped at 20 per cent of project expenditure. A Hong Kong company expanding into Singapore or the Mainland can therefore claim back part of the setup cost. Easy BUD only covers designated measures, so check the current guide before assuming entity setup qualifies under it. An enhanced round of the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme is also targeted for the second half of 2026, and the existing programme covers SMEs in sectors such as retail and food and beverage.
What it means if you are deciding now
Government fees for a new company are HK$3,895 for 2026/27 if you file electronically, made up of HK$1,545 to the Companies Registry and HK$2,350 for a one-year business registration certificate, or HK$4,070 on paper. The Registry normally issues certificates within an hour of a complete electronic filing, so the "about a week" we quote is our own estimate for the whole job, documents included.
Re-domiciliation is live and 42 companies have used it, so an offshore company that no longer earns its keep deserves a second look, and a regional business should raise the concession packages with its advisers before the treasury centre bill lands. If you're a Mainland company looking outward, the task force wants to match you with an adviser, and we'd like to be that adviser. Start on our incorporation page or book a call.
