When moving your business from a country to another, everything needs to be seamlessly organized from start to finish. Accomplishing this will guarantee you that your move will be successful. On the other hand, organizing a local move on your own is feasible, but when it comes to organizing international relocations, things are a little bit different and not easy.
As of the moment, there is unfortunately, little point in further discussing Hong Kong’s current woes — politics aside, the facts are obvious for the world to see. Hong Kong has already lost its long-held moniker as the world’s freest economy, and billions in assets have already been shifted to the safe harbour of Singapore.
Why Singapore?
Singapore ranks highly as one of the world’s freest economies. In 2020 it is ranked #1 in the Index of Economic Freedom, which is an annual index and ranking created in 1995 by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal to measure the degree of economic freedom in the world’s nations. Interestingly, in 2020 Singapore replaced Hong Kong at the top of the list (HK is now ranked #2).
There are three main options to choose from when choosing a business structure in Singapore.
Create a Singapore Parent Company for your Hong Kong Company
This option allows you to set up a company in Singapore that acts as the parent company for your Hong Kong operation. In time, once the transfer is complete, you will set up a second, separate Singapore company that will act as the ultimate, long-term operating company for your business.
Create a Hong Kong Parent Company (Subsidiary Company in Singapore)
This option is almost the reverse of the previous option, in that the parent company is created in Hong Kong and not Singapore. You still however can create the operating company in Singapore, and gradually shift business from your original Hong Kong company to the new Singapore company.
Turn your Hong Kong Company into a Parent Company
This option allows your current Hong Kong company to be the parent company of your new Singapore company. Otherwise, the process is similar to option one. Your new Singapore company will be structured to mirror your original Hong Kong company for the transfer of business.
Want to learn more how to move your company from Hong Kong to Singapore? Check out this Rikvin.com blog.
