China’s socialist-oriented economy provides access to over 3.5 billion consumers and serves as a crucial gateway to one of the most dynamic markets in the world. Business and Financial centres such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai attract world-wide companies, by merit of their business-friendly environment, excellent education, political strength and superior tax policies.
Despite their many similarities, the three hubs have many different business components, ranging from both economic and political, to educational.
These distinctions are reviewed separately in the form of two tables, to ease the conduction of future managers of firms, who are planning to invest or establish their organization in the region. They may also be beneficial for entrepreneurs, who are planning to launch their own start-up and are seeking for reassurance as to where they should invest first.
General Information
Hong Kong is a city with a capitalist economy, located in the southeast of China, with more than 7.3 million inhabitants, Cantonese and English are its official spoken languages.
The Republic of Singapore, like Hong Kong, has a capitalist economy and is located in south-eastern Asia. The sovereign-city has a population of more than 5.8 million and its national language is Malay, along with three other official languages including Mandarin, Tamil and English, which is extensively spoken.
Shanghai on the other hand, is located on China’s central coast and is the country’s most populated city. Its official language is Mandarin; however, English is used as a formal business language. The city’s population is around 24 million.
| Hong Kong | Singapore | Shanghai/ China | |
| Political environment | stable | stable | stable |
| Political / short-term risk | ranked 21st worldwide | ranked 3rd worldwide | ranked 23rd out of 109 nations world-wide |
| Political / long-term risk | ranked 56th worldwide | ranked 29th worldwide | ranked 78th worldwide |
| Total tax rate as % of profits | 22.9% of profits | 19.1% of profits | 67.7% of profits |
| Ease of paying taxes | ranked 3rd among 190 economies worldwide | ranked 5th among 190 economies worldwide | ranked 131st among 190 economies worldwide |
| Education (PISA Scores) | scored amongst highest education systems worldwide | scored amongst highest education systems worldwide | scored highly |
| Hong Kong | Singapore | Shanghai | |
| Number of procedures and length of time to start a Business | Two procedures, 1.5 days | Three procedures, 2.5 days | Nine procedures, 28.9 days |
| Income per capita to start a Business | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| Policies that favour entrepreneurship | – Online electronic services for corporate registration – No-capital duty on local companies – Reduction of business registration fees – Low tax policies- | – Easy to trade across borders and execute contracts from Hong Kong – Government policies encourage foreign investment – Low tax policies | – No minimum capital requirement – No requirement to obtain a capital verification report from an auditing firm – Single Business licence, organization code & tax registration form enforcing contracts |
| Potential barriers | – Transfer property in the city – Language Barriers – Retain visa – Dealing with local law proceedings | – High local competition – Timeline for start-ups | – Get credit in China & trade across borders vs. Hong Kong & Singapore |
| Top foreign companies investments | France very strong presence | – France strong presence – US, Japan, the Netherlands & UK | France strong presence |
How we can assist you
From preliminary advice and planning through incorporation and day-to-day administration, our consultants at Kelmer Hong Kong, Kelmer Singapore and Kelmer Shanghai can provide you with the most efficient solutions for your business set up and management, overcoming potential barriers and maximizing advantages.
Get in Touch
Kelmer Hong Kong
Telephone: +852 3187 7477
Email: hongkong@kelmer.com
http://www.kelmer.com/hong-kong.html
Kelmer Singapore
Telephone: +65 6222 3985
Email: singapore@kelmer.com
http://www.kelmer.com/singapore.html
Kelmer Shanghai
Telephone: +86 (0)21 3392 6220
Email: shanghai@kelmer.com