During economic downturn, businesses should seek ways to cut unnecessary cost, or find new business opportunities sometimes by exploring new markets.
If a business operates from a country which charges relatively high company taxes, the likelihood for him to cut cost through operations or tax is close to zero. A great alternative is Hong Kong where corporate tax has always been one of the lowest in the world for many past years.
To set up in Hong Kong, an entrepreneur visa can be applied. Regarding the application of visa or immigration, entrepreneurs would be better off seek professional service or assistance from an experienced local agent (or consulting agency).
It may highly depends on the nature of the business. Some businesses are set up solely to give services to a local region, and the services provided may even have to be face-to-face. This type of business may be the most difficult ones when you consider relocating it to another spot in the world. But there may still be some portions in the entire business which are possible to be relocated.
The typical requirements will still be applied when setting up a new business in Hong Kong. One example is that the entrepreneur (as an employer) of the HK company must recruit Hong Kong citizens as local staffs. Another example is that the newly setup company must prove to have a local office address.
Entrepreneurs should not simply open a company in HK without attending to it. The business must have real clients or customers, and must have real money transactions between the company and clients/customers, and money transactions between the company and vendors/suppliers.
The entrepreneur must be able to prove that he has more than sufficient fund to support the company, or else it is unlikely that his visa application can be granted by HK Immigration Department.
Some tips for entrepreneurs to quickly settle in Hong Kong may include the following.
Make a few local friends in Hong Kong, whether they are locally born citizens or expats who have been living in HK for many years. Any persons may become helpful than having no one you know in a new place.
Your new local friends may be able to act as guide to help you meet other people. They may even be able to point you to the right directions or introduce you to some local events/conferences where you can get new connections in the local space.
Get to understand the local culture. Basically, HK has cultures of the west and the east as a mixture.
