how to open a business in hong kong

The process took longer than it normally would due to the issue of getting a bank account set up. As I alluded to earlier, if need be we could have come on a tourist visa (which does not require a prior application) for 90 days while we awaited approval on the business investment visa.
The business investment visa allows me, and my family who are here on “dependent” visas, to stay here for 12 months. At the end of those 12 months the government will check in on me to see how my business is doing, and if I’m hiring local talent and growing then there should be no problem with me getting the visa renewed.
Communication
Thanks to VOIP technology, I was able to bring my office phone from Utah. Provided by Jive Communications, I can plug the phone into an Internet jack anywhere in the world and it will work just as it did while I was in Utah. Actually better than in Utah, since Internet speeds in Hong Kong commonly reach 10 times the speed they did when I was on Comcast in Utah, and at half the price, I might add.
The slightly more complicated part was getting my mobile phone to work as I wanted it to. I wanted to keep the same number I had in the U.S. and be able to receive calls and texts on my cell phone here in Hong Kong as though I were in the U.S., but simultaneously be able to make mobile calls here in Hong Kong from the same phone. I’ve gone into a bit more detail on the process here, but suffice it to say that by porting my U.S. number to Google Voice, and then using a free Android app called GrooVe IP, I’ve been able to get exactly the functionality I wanted. When someone calls me from the U.S. I pick up and talk as though I were in the U.S. When I call someone in the U.S. from Hong Kong they see my U.S. mobile number and have no idea I’m on the other side of the world. For those of you tempted to tell me I should have used Skype, I did, and trust me, this method is much, much better.
Networking
One of the most pleasant aspects of this move has been to see how easy it is to network in Hong Kong. Having few business contacts here prior to making the move, I worried about how I would get my business here off the ground. Now I worry about how I will keep up. There are more organized networking events where I can meet other entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives than I can possibly attend. This calendar from the SME Creativity Center, an outreach effort of the Hong Kong government, will give you a small view into the number and types of events available for someone looking to get out and become involved in the business community. I’ve found many great events on Eventbrite and Meetup, and I’ve heard good things about various international groups such as the American Chamber of Commerce.
There are also ample opportunities for online networking with active business communities on Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter.
Miscellaneous
There are many more aspects of this venture I could cover such as finding housing; finding accounting, legal, and other professional services; and finding employees and hiring. These will be covered in due course as I write extensively about my experience starting and running my business here in Hong Kong.
For now, here are a few details you may find helpful:
Mail forwarding from the U.S. is free via the U.S. Post Office. I don’t understand why, but it is.
There are no capital gains taxes in Hong Kong. The highest personal tax bracket is 17%. The corporate tax rate is a flat tax of 16.5% on profits.
There are many government entities dedicated to assisting businesses start up in or move to Hong Kong. The foremost of these is InvestHK which has some useful resources on doing business here. I recommend getting in touch with the people at InvestHK who can open doors and be quite helpful. All their services are provided free of charge–that is, you’ve already paid for them with your taxes.
English is an official language in Hong Kong, and one can do business quite easily here without knowing any Cantonese. But if you’re inclined to learn, I love these videos for getting started.
After reading this you may feel moving your business to Hong Kong doesn’t sound easy at all. If that’s you, I recommend you find someone from Hong Kong who has tried to move and start a business in the U.S. That might put things in perspective.