Registering a J-company in HK

[Catoneinutica]

Still in Seattle. I'd been reading about the tax benefits of registering a J-KK Kompany in HK because of HK's favorable corporate tax treatment. Met with my tax lawyer today, and he said he'd heard of a few cases where people had had their money stolen or embezzled in HK, and that a person should be extremely wary of HK registration. Any FGs been thinking of HK registration? If so, have you heard any similar horror stories?

[Typhoon]

Still in Seattle. I'd been reading about the tax benefits of registering a J-KK Kompany in HK because of HK's favorable corporate tax treatment. Met with my tax lawyer today, and he said he'd heard of a few cases where people had had their money stolen or embezzled in HK, and that a person should be extremely wary of HK registration. Any FGs been thinking of HK registration? If so, have you heard any similar horror stories?

I'm a bit puzzled about "registering a J-KK company in HK".
Does Japan recognize HK registered KK type companies?
If so, I'd be interested in a link.

As for HK registration per se, it depends on how you do it.
Better to use a reputable local legal firm than a picking a Google ad.

On the other hand, it looks like you can do it yourself online using the HK gov site

http://www.gov.hk/en/business/registration/businesscompany/index.htm#p1

[TennoChinko]

Still in Seattle. I'd been reading about the tax benefits of registering a J-KK Kompany in HK because of HK's favorable corporate tax treatment. Met with my tax lawyer today, and he said he'd heard of a few cases where people had had their money stolen or embezzled in HK, and that a person should be extremely wary of HK registration. Any FGs been thinking of HK registration? If so, have you heard any similar horror stories?

I haven't heard of any such horror stories. There are plenty of legitimate corporate incorporation services firms not just for HK but also the more popular jurisdictions like Caymans, British Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Panama and even Singapore.

This offshore incorporation services firm, OIL, has been around for a while:

http://www.offshore-inc.com

and, they definitely do Hong Kong:

http://www.offshore-inc.com/index.php?_function=jurisdiction&_subFunction=background&jurCode=HK

[DrP]

Haha! Thats funny - I hear the same crap all the time from Japanese CPA's. In fact they'll recommend Spore since its safer, somehow. One very major Japanese company decided against using HK settlement for CC in favor of Spore simply due to the rumour of instability. The rumor, of course, was propogated by a prominent J-CC settlement company that had a 'working relationship' with one of the most corrupt banks in Spore.

BTW - there is no benefit to 'registering a Japanese company' in HK. It simply makes no structuring sense. If you wanted to take advantage of HK taxation law, then you'd close your Japanese company, start a new one in HK, then create a Japanese branch.

[Catoneinutica]

Haha! Thats funny - I hear the same crap all the time from Japanese CPA's. In fact they'll recommend Spore since its safer, somehow. One very major Japanese company decided against using HK settlement for CC in favor of Spore simply due to the rumour of instability. The rumor, of course, was propogated by a prominent J-CC settlement company that had a 'working relationship' with one of the most corrupt banks in Spore.

BTW - there is no benefit to 'registering a Japanese company' in HK. It simply makes no structuring sense. If you wanted to take advantage of HK taxation law, then you'd close your Japanese company, start a new one in HK, then create a Japanese branch.

Thanks to all for the advice. Yeah, my lawyer is an olde farte overdue for retirement, and in his extreme conservatism is not too different from any number of Japanese accountants. And yes, that's what I actually intended to say in my original post: I'd close my J-KK, start a new one in HK, then create a J-branch. Sorry for my muddled writing - got a nephew here in Seattle constantly demanding I go build Lego crap with him, and he's at his most insistent when I'm on the 'puter, naturally.