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MORE large international companies are opening overseas offices in Hong Kong (HK) than Singapore or Japan, according to property group CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).
The CBRE Business Footprints study of 280 companies shows 68.2 per cent of them are represented in HK, 67.5 per cent in Singapore, 63.9 per cent in Japan’s capital of Tokyo with 61.4 per cent based in Shanghai, China.
Invest Hong Kong head of Australia and New Zealand Cameron Boardman says companies come to the city-state because it offers a more risk-free, certain and beneficial way of doing business with Mainland China.
“HK is an English-speaking, a common law and low tax jurisdiction. The bridge between HK and Mainland China allows companies to take advantage of HK’s legal and economic systems to transform their businesses and enter the mainland,” he says.
Boardman says mainland Chinese companies and individuals also utilise HK as a gateway to invest a more secure and lower tax environment in HK before going global.
“There are no currency or capital or information controls in HK. You can choose between Chinese or English and the common law framework gives companies absolute certainty that contracts will be enforceable by the law,” he says.
“It’s also one of HK’s strong views that it has a zero tolerance towards corruption. It also allows companies to operate with minimum regulatory interference.”
Regulatory requirements for entering the Chinese market can seem daunting for a growing enterprise, but Hong Kong has proven to be a popular starting point. Read the entire trade features section by getting your copy of Brisbane Business News' October issue – out now in more than 500 greater Brisbane newsagencies.
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