Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, outlined his budget for 2020-21 in his Budget Address on 26 February 2020. Following the HKD30 billion coronavirus relief package two weeks ago by Hong Kong Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, Chan’s budget offers additional relief with generous measures for business.
A range of relief measures were outlined to help local enterprises deal with the fallout and uncertainty of the global economic and trade environment. As part of these measures it is proposed that the business registration (BR) fees for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 will be waived, and only the BR Levy will be charged.
HONG KONG: The Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Ordinance 2018 has been introduced to streamline the administration of Hong Kong companies and facilitate compliance and came into force on 1 February 2019.
The Companies Ordinance (Cap.622) has been amended to require a company incorporated in Hong Kong to identify persons who have significant control over the company and to maintain a register of significant controllers to be accessible by law enforcement officers upon demand. This follows similar steps taken in the UK and other jurisdictions, and the Hong Kong RSCs will not be accessible to the general public.