Offshore company for export to china, where?

[moneymaker]

Can someone help me to learn what offshore jurisdiction would be cool when my business will be to export goods and services to China?


I live in Portugal and don't wont my government to know what Im doing


Any help please...

 

[moneymaker]

I read this Why Seychelles /forum/blogs/admin/121-why-seychelles.html and it seems to be good for export to china or not?

 

[myoffshoreliving]

Anyone has any idea? Im interested nto this question too.

 

[FvS]

I work with this type of thing on a daily basis and Seychelles has indeed become quite popular from where to trade with China. Hong Kong used to be popular for this (and still is), but compliance of a HK company has become a bit of a pain, and there is also an auditing requirement there that can add to the operating costs.


Regarding anonymity of a Seychelles company, a register of members must be maintained in the Seychelles by the local registered agent. However, it is not public record and is only open to inspection by members of the company. It will not be disclosed unless there is a order from a Seychelles court to do so. Furthermore, there is a tax treaty between Seychelles and China which is useful to have around depending on the circumstances.


Remember, your trading partners in China are going to have to be happy to pay invoices issued by a company set up outside of China. If not, and they want to be invoiced by a domestic company (because of exchange control hassles for example, or the [withholding] tax they have to pay in China if they pay fees for services provided by a company based outside of China), you are going to have to set up a local company in China also.


Please feel free to message me if you have any questions- happy to help

 

[moneymaker]

Why do I need to register a company in China, I read somewhere that China has many trading agreements with the Seychelles and for that reason it is a benefit to trade with China from within a Seychelles business?

 

[FvS]

It all depends on your trading partner in China. If they are happy to pay an offshore company then there are not any problems and you would only need the Seychelles, and not a company in China. There are, however, withholding taxes in China on payments for services from offshore (including a seychelles company) and for that reason many local companies prefer to receive those services from other domestic companies. If the services you are providing are not locally available, then that would be to your advantage. It is less of a problem if you are dealing with the export of physical products to China. Also, as mentioned, getting money paid out of China can be a pain because of exchange controls and that would also be applicable to transactions with a Seychelles CO. Payments are easier with business to (offshore) business transactions, but get more troublesome when you are dealing with individuals based in China. There is not a one size fits all answer to the China part- it would really depend on what your business model is going to look like and needs to be looked at on a case-by-case basis

 

[moneymaker]

Okay, I will try to find the information about business in China with an Seychelles company, maybe I have read something wrong. It sounds logical what you explained. Thanks anyway..

 

[FvS]

No Problem. Please feel free to message me on the China part as I am actually based in Shanghai and would be happy to help

 

[moneymaker]

Do you know the cost to incorporate a company in China, also what requirements there are?

 

[benjana]

If the fee is reasonable and the setup process to register the China company is simple, then I would consider it??!

 

[JohnLocke]

Would be great asset to have here on the forum to know the fees and requirements to incorporate a China company, so feel free to post what you may know

 

[FvS]

The cost and best approach depends on a few things such as what your business is and where you are from, who are your customers, how you derive your revenue in China, which state and province you intend to set up in China, how many foreign staff will be needed etc. With that we would usually check for licenses needed, minimum foreign capital requirements, appropriate structure, how long it would take, etc. Costs vary widely but would usually start from around USD 8k for the setup

 

[JohnLocke]

So it is a more complicated process to incorporate a company in China compared to other countries if I read you correct? One can't just register a company without providing all these information?

 

[moneymaker]

It seems to be very expensive and you need to fly to Hong Kong to incorporate a company there to be sure you don't get ripped off.


I'm ready to proceed with my company formation and think I will try out with a Seychelles company to see if it works, if not I will let it go and look for someone reliable in Hong Kong to help me with the company formation there.