Information
Gateway to China: Why go through Hong Kong?
(Source: Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Canada)
Asia’s Most Popular City for International Business
- Level playing field for all – no foreign ownership restrictions
- Low, simple and predictable tax regime
- No tax on off-shore income, capital gains, dividends, estate or sales
- Rule of law and an independent, experienced judiciary
- Free movement of capital, talent and goods
Location, Location, Location – “At the heart of Asia’s high-growth economies”
- Within five hours of half the world’s population
- Magnet for Asia’s financial, business and trading community
- Asia’s leading aviation and shipping hub
- Proven gateway to China’s high-growth markets
- Adjacent to China’s fast-growing Pearl River Delta region
Dynamic People – “A ready pool of expertise, enthusiasm and talent”
- Multi-lingual workforce – English is the language of business
- Highly trained, flexible and motivated population
- Experienced in travelling and working in Mainland China, and throughout the region
- Familiar with the latest international business practices
- Strong work ethnic – industrial action extremely rare
Cosmopolitan Lifestyle – “From housing and schooling, to bistros and beaches!”
- Vibrant and varied expatriate community
- Choice of housing, from in-town apartments to country houses
- Over 40% of Hong Kong is protected country parks
- Over 50 international schools from kindergarten to secondary
- Wide variety of sports and entertainment
Hong Kong a Preferred Entry Point to China for Businesses
- CEPA, a China-Hong Kong free trade agreement, allows local companies preferential access to the China market
- All goods qualified as Hong Kong origin may be exported to China tariff free.
Simple and Competitive Tax System
- Lowest tax rate in Asia Pacific (3rd lowest in the world).
- Maximum profits tax rate is 16.5%, while maximum salary tax rate is 15%
- No goods and services tax
- Zero duty on both wine and beer
One of the World’s Most Competitive Locations
- Ranked the 3rd most competitive location in the world (source: IMD World Competitiveness Scoreboard).
- Ranked 1st in business efficiency
- Ranked 2nd in government efficiency
- Ranked 5th in economic performance
World-Class Infrastructure: Transport and Telecommunications
- Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is named the world’s best airport and enjoys a 5 star ranking (source: Skytrax World Airport Awards 2008).
- Ranked as one of the most e-ready economies in the world, sitting behind the U.S. (source: Economist Intelligence Unit)
- Fully privatised telecommunications sector
- Enjoy highest mobile penetration in the world
Leading International Financial Centre
- Hong Kong is China’s international financial capital
- the most competitive financial centre in Asia (source: The Global Financial Centres Index, City of London Corporation)
- Ranked 2nd in the world in terms of access to capital (source: Capital Access Index 2008, Milken Institute).
Strong Canada-Hong Kong Ties
- Home to more than 160 Canadian companies – a third of which use Hong Kong as their regional headquarters
- More than 250,000 Canadian passport holders in Hong Kong
- Presence of two Canadian provincial government offices in Hong Kong – the Government of Alberta Office (mainly handles trade and investment matters) and the Service d’Immigration du Quebec.
- Non-profit Canadian Education Centre operates independently of government.
- Over 100,000 Canadian university alumni representing various active alumni associations in Hong Kong
- More than 50 international schools in Hong Kong offer curricula including German-Swiss, French, Australian, Singaporean, Korean and Chinese
- 200 research projects conducted between institutions in Canada and Hong Kong’s higher education sector
