Company Formation, Tax & Advisory Services

Q: Can you take over an existing structure set up by someone else?

Frequently. We begin by establishing what actually exists, what obligations attach to it, and whether it still serves its original purpose, which sometimes leads to a recommendation to simplify or wind down rather than maintain.

Q: Is it still worth using a low-tax jurisdiction?

Sometimes, but the analysis has changed. Registration alone no longer settles how an arrangement is treated; substance requirements and information exchange have shifted the question from where an entity sits to where its activity genuinely takes place.

Advisory

Independent counsel for leadership teams. Each engagement is led by the adviser who performs the analysis, and concludes with a written recommendation.

A1

Strategy & growth

Market and portfolio assessment, growth options and capital allocation. Which opportunities justify investment, and which should be declined.

A2

Operations & efficiency

Review of the operating model end to end. Where margin, time and capacity are lost, and what it would cost to recover them.

A3

Change & transformation

Programme design and delivery oversight for structural change, sequenced realistically and with named owners against each milestone.

A4

Leadership advisory

Confidential counsel for executives and boards on matters that cannot readily be discussed internally: succession, restructuring, partnership and exit.

Corporate services

The structural and administrative work that turns a decision into an operating business, handled end to end with a named point of contact throughout.

C1

Company formation

Incorporation in the jurisdictions we cover, including holding structures, group reorganisation and the constitutional documents each entity requires.

C2

Corporate structuring

Design of ownership and control structures that reflect the commercial reality of the business and withstand scrutiny from banks and regulators.

C3

International tax advisory

Cross-border tax planning, treaty analysis and substance requirements, with the reporting obligations that attach to each arrangement set out in advance.

C4

Tax residency

Corporate and personal residency planning, relocation support and the supporting documentation required to evidence the position taken.

C5

Corporate banking

Account opening and payment infrastructure. We prepare the supporting file and manage the institution's questions through to a decision.

C6

Licensing

Regulatory licence applications and the governance, capital and compliance framework required to obtain and retain them.

C7

Accounting & reporting

Bookkeeping, statutory accounts, and periodic filing obligations tracked against a calendar so deadlines are met rather than discovered.

C8

AML & KYC

Policy design, onboarding and monitoring procedures, and remediation of gaps identified in an existing compliance framework.

C9

Corporate management

Ongoing administration: registered office, corporate secretarial support, registers, resolutions and statutory filings.

What we need from you to begin

Engagements stall far more often on missing documents than on difficult questions. Assembling this before we start usually removes weeks from the timeline.

For a formation or structuring matter

Certified passport copies and proof of residential address for every proposed director, shareholder and beneficial owner
A short description of the intended activity, the countries you will sell into, and who your customers are
Where a corporate shareholder is involved, its constitutional documents and registers, plus evidence of who ultimately controls it
Any existing structure charts, and details of entities already incorporated elsewhere
Preferred company name, with one or two alternatives in case of objection

Certification requirements vary by jurisdiction and by bank. We will tell you exactly what form each document needs to take before you commission certification, rather than after you have paid for the wrong kind.

For a banking application

Everything above, plus the incorporation documents of the entity applying
Evidence the business is real: signed contracts, invoices, a website, a lease, or correspondence with counterparties
Source of funds for the opening deposit, and source of wealth for the beneficial owners, with documents rather than assertions
Realistic expected monthly transaction volumes and values, principal counterparties, and the currencies involved
Full disclosure of any previous refusal, account closure, or regulatory issue

That last point matters more than clients expect. A previously refused application is manageable when disclosed at the outset and difficult to recover from when discovered later. We explain why in our note on refusals.

For an advisory engagement

The decision you are actually facing, stated plainly, rather than the analysis you think you need
Management accounts and any relevant operational data for the period under review
Access to the people who do the work, not only those who report on it
Any previous internal or external analysis of the same question, including work you disagreed with

How long things take

We do not publish fixed timelines, because the honest answer depends on factors outside our control and quoting a number we cannot hold to would be the wrong way to begin. What we can set out is what actually drives the variance.

Incorporation

Usually the fastest stage. Electronic filings are processed considerably quicker than paper ones, and a clean application with an unobjectionable name normally completes in a matter of working days.

Name objections add a further round
Corporate shareholders extend verification
Certification from abroad is often the bottleneck

Banking

The least predictable stage by a wide margin, and the one most often underestimated. Institutions differ enormously in appetite and in how long their compliance review takes.

Complex ownership extends review substantially
Higher-risk sectors face additional scrutiny
Incomplete files restart the clock

Licensing

Governed by the regulator's own processing times, which we cannot influence. What we can influence is whether the application is complete and coherent when submitted.

Capital and governance conditions must be met first
Regulator queries are normal, not a warning sign
Resubmission after refusal is slow

Where a deadline genuinely binds — a funding round, a contract start date, a filing obligation — tell us at the first conversation. It changes which options are realistic, and occasionally it means the honest answer is that the timeline cannot be met.

How we engage

Terms are agreed in writing before work begins, without exception.

01

Initial conversation

Exploratory and without obligation. We establish the objective, the jurisdictions in play, and whether the matter falls within our areas of practice.
02

Written scope

A defined scope of work, the fee basis, the timeline, and the documents and information we will need from you. Nothing proceeds until this is agreed.
03

Delivery

Work carried out against the agreed scope with a named point of contact and defined checkpoints. Changes in scope are raised and agreed, not absorbed silently.
04

Ongoing obligations

Where an engagement creates continuing filing or reporting duties, we set out what they are, when they fall due, and whether you would like us to handle them.

Common questions

The questions we are asked most often, answered as we would answer them on a call.

Do I need to live in Hong Kong to incorporate a company there?

No. There is no residency requirement for directors or shareholders of a Hong Kong private company. You do, however, need a company secretary who ordinarily resides in Hong Kong (or a body corporate with a presence there) and a registered office address in Hong Kong. Both can be provided as part of an engagement. The mechanics are set out in our note on formation.

Can you guarantee that a bank will open an account?

No, and you should treat any provider who does with caution. The decision belongs to the institution's compliance function, not to us. What we can do is prepare a file that answers the questions a bank is obliged to ask, direct it to an institution whose risk appetite fits the business, and manage the queries through to a decision. That materially improves the odds. It does not control them.

Do you work with clients outside Hong Kong?

Yes. We are registered in Hong Kong and work with clients wherever they are based. Much of our work is cross-border by nature — the question is usually which jurisdictions should be involved, not which one you happen to be sitting in.

What does an engagement cost?

It depends on scope, and we set the fee basis out in writing before any work begins. Straightforward formation work is generally quoted as a fixed fee. Advisory engagements and complex structuring are scoped individually. We do not begin work on an open-ended basis, and we raise changes in scope rather than absorbing them quietly and invoicing for them later.

Do you take on every enquiry?

No. Where a matter falls outside our areas of practice, where we do not think the proposed approach will work, or where the work would be better handled internally or by a specialist, we say so at the first conversation. Declining at the outset costs you nothing; discovering it three months in costs a great deal.

Can you take over an existing structure set up by someone else?

Frequently. This is a common starting point, particularly where a structure was designed under an earlier set of rules and has not been revisited since. We begin by establishing what actually exists, what obligations attach to it, and whether it still serves its original purpose — which sometimes leads to a recommendation to simplify or wind down rather than maintain.

Is it still worth using a low-tax jurisdiction?

Sometimes, but the analysis has changed considerably. Registration alone no longer settles how an arrangement is treated; substance requirements and information exchange have shifted the question from where an entity sits to where its activity genuinely takes place. We work through this in our note on economic substance.

Who will actually do the work?

The adviser you speak to. We do not staff engagements with junior teams and pass the work down, and there is no account manager sitting between you and the person doing the analysis.

How confidential is a first conversation?

Entirely. We do not publish client names, discuss matters we are working on, or confirm relationships to third parties. If a formal confidentiality agreement would make the conversation easier, we are happy to sign one before it takes place.

Not sure which of these you need?

Most enquiries begin that way. Describe what you are trying to achieve and we will tell you which services apply — including if the answer is none of them.

Start a conversation

Advisory, and the work that follows it

Advisory

Strategy & growth

Operations & efficiency

Change & transformation

Leadership advisory

Corporate services

Company formation

Corporate structuring

International tax advisory

Tax residency

Corporate banking

Licensing

Accounting & reporting

AML & KYC

Corporate management

What we need from you to begin

For a formation or structuring matter

For a banking application

For an advisory engagement

How long things take

Incorporation

Banking

Licensing

How we engage

Initial conversation

Written scope

Delivery

Ongoing obligations

Common questions

Do I need to live in Hong Kong to incorporate a company there?

Can you guarantee that a bank will open an account?

Do you work with clients outside Hong Kong?

What does an engagement cost?

Do you take on every enquiry?

Can you take over an existing structure set up by someone else?

Is it still worth using a low-tax jurisdiction?

Who will actually do the work?

How confidential is a first conversation?

Not sure which of these you need?