The Insurance Authority (IA) has welcomed the release of consultation conclusion and legislative proposals by the government on the introduction of a company re-domiciliation regime.
“The insurance sector has been calling for a regime that enables offshore companies with significant local presence to relocate their headquarters back to Hong Kong in a seamless manner. This is indeed a strong vote of confidence in our competitiveness as an international financial centre,” said Mr Clement Cheung, CEO of the IA, in a statement.
“The re-domiciliation regime will simplify administrative procedures, cut down legal costs, and reduce the lead time for offshore companies to complete the re-domiciliation without any undue disruption to their business operations. It will be cherished by insurance groups seeking to expand their regional footprints and capture opportunities available in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, while at the same time injecting impetus into developing the ‘headquarters economy’,” he added.
The IA added that it is committed to working closely with the government and industry stakeholders to ensure timely introduction of the re-domiciliation regime.
Hong Kong is working hard to attract companies to locate their headquarters in the territory.
Highlights of the re-domiciliation regime
On 3 July, the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) published the public consultation conclusion and latest legislative proposals for the company re-domiciliation regime.
The Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, summarises the highlights of the re-domiciliation regime, which are:
1. A focused policy to draw in enterprises
2. Enhanced procedures for business facilitation
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Relaxing requirement on financial statements
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Extending deregistration period
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Retaining company name and business registration number (BRO) after re-domiciliation to enable continued bsuiness operations.
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Simplifying requirements on company members’ consent
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Ensuring proper regulation of financial institutions
3. Clear tax obligations and elimination of burden
Mr Hui said that Hong Kong is pressing ahead with the drafting of the legislation with a view to submitting the Bill to the Legislative Council as early as practicable.