Business and Investment
Q&A
The primary forms for Hong Kong and foreign investors to set up an institution/enterprise in the Mainland are as follows:
- representative offices of foreign enterprises
- sole proprietorship
- foreign-invested enterprises: Chinese-foreign joint ventures/Chinese-foreign co-operative enterprises/wholly foreign-owned enterprises/foreign-invested partnership enterprises
For information about investment in the Guangdong Province, such as application and approval procedures, please visit the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province’s webpage on “Investment in Guangdong” (Chinese only):
Hong Kong businessmen may also refer to the list of investment consultation/service centres in the Guangdong Province compiled by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong, which sets out information of the centres that provide investment/policy consultation service for foreign enterprises (including Hong Kong enterprises) and serve as an agency to make applications for establishment of foreign-invested enterprises and representative offices of foreign enterprises, etc.
As one of the preferential treatments under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, Hong Kong permanent residents with Chinese nationality may, in line with relevant laws, regulations or administrative rules of the Mainland, establish sole proprietorship in any provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities in the Mainland without being subject to foreign investment approval process. There is no limit on the number of employees, or the size of its business space. The permissible business scope of sole proprietorship of Hong Kong residents covers various sectors/industries including retail, restaurants, computer services, advertising, clinic, economic and trade consulting, and management consulting services, etc.
For information about major laws, regulations and administrative rules of the Mainland, permissible business scope, operation limits, approval and registration procedures for establishing business and so forth, please visit the website of the HKSAR Government’s Trade and Industry Department:
There are two channels for registration, transfer and changes of trademarks: first, applicants may directly approach the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to make applications; second, applicants may commission a trademark agency to make applications. Trademarks registered in Hong Kong have priority for registration in the Mainland.
For procedures and points-to-note regarding trademark applications, please visit the website of Trademark Office of China National Intellectual Property Administration:
To promote Hong Kong service enterprises and service providers in Guangdong, and to facilitate Hong Kong residents in Guangdong in accessing services provided by Hong Kong service providers there, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong has, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in China (Guangdong), compiled the Directory of Hong Kong Service Enterprises in Guangdong, which covers sectors like financial services, professional services, real estate services, enterprise services, life services, integrated services and production services in the nine Guangdong cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Please see the online version of the Directory at: https://www.hkservicedirectoryingd.gov.hk/en/home/index.html
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong (GDETO) publishes Newsletter on Trade and Business every Friday, which provides up-to-date information about policies and regulations on commerce and trade, economic development, as well as economic and trade activities in the five provinces/region (including Guangdong Province). GDETO has also compiled the list of investment consultation/service centres, enabling Hong Kong businessmen to know more about the five provinces/regions. In addition, GDETO organises seminars/talks inviting Mainland government departments to elucidate relevant policies and regulations for Hong Kong businessmen, and assists Hong Kong businessmen in arranging visits to the five provinces/regions so that they could personally see the economic development and business opportunities in different provinces and regions.
Newsletter on Trade and Business and the list of investment consultation/service centres have been uploaded to the GDETO website.
With the support of the HKSAR Government, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council has launched the GoGBA one-stop digital platform to provide comprehensive support for Hong Kong businessmen, which covers information about markets and policies of the Greater Bay Area (such as market information and business regulations in the Area), group-based consultation services and training, and online and offline promotional, expansion and matching services for enterprises.
For details, please visit https://www.go-gba.com/en/
The policy measures to support professional services announced after the plenary meeting of the Leading Group mainly include:
- measures on partnership associations by Hong Kong and Mainland law firms, legal consultants and special examination
- further extending the scope of mutual recognition of qualifications for construction professionals
- expanding the scope of liberalisation measures for construction professionals from Hong Kong and Macao to practise on the Mainland
- preferential treatment on insurance regulation
- removing the requirement on years of operating experience for Hong Kong service suppliers to provide insurance loss adjusting services on the Mainland
- supporting bond market development in Hong Kong and Macao (catastrophe bonds)