Sapore di Cina

Learn Chinese, Travel or Work in China

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

How to Open a Company in Hong Kong as a Foreigner in 2021

by

register a company in hong kong

  1. The pros and cons of registering a limited company in Hong Kong
  2. How to open a company in Hong Kong without living or even going there
  3. All the documents you need to open a company in Hong Kong
  4. The total cost of registering and maintaining a company in Hong Kong
  5. How to open a multi-currency business bank account in Hong Kong (if you need it)
  6. How to get a government grant for your small business in Hong Kong
  7. How to spot an honest agency and avoid scammers while opening your company
  8. Frequently asked questions
  9. Get a free quotation from a reliable agency
If you want to know the name of an honest and capable licensed agency that can help you register your company, you can contact us via this contact form

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

How to open a Multi-currency Business Account in Hong Kong

by 2 Comments

How to open a business bank account in Hong Kong

  1. Introduction: Your options
  2. How to open a Currenxie business account in Hong Kong
  3. How to open a “traditional” business account
  4. How to open an off-shore business account
  5. Frequently asked questions

Introduction: Your options

If you’re reading this article then perhaps you already know that in recent years, opening a business bank account in Hong Kong for your company has become complicated.

The time has passed when you could just show up at any branch and open a business bank account in one day.

But all is not lost. These days there are three ways of handling payments for your company in Hong Kong:

  • Open a “traditional” bank account in Hong Kong (this as I already mentioned has become complicated, as I will explain in detail later in this article);
  • Open an off-shore bank account: this could be simpler but is more expensive, and would also make it very hard to accept payments through Paypal or credit cards via Stripe or Braintree (the companies used by the majority);
  • Open an “alternative” account with Currenxie, which offers business accounts in Hong Kong that can be opened for free, allowing you to make, send, and receive payments (local and international) under your company name, and accept payments through all your major online payment gateways (Paypal, Amazon, Stripe)

In this article, we will describe these three options. We’ll start with Currenxie, since it’s the simplest. [Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

How to Open a Company in Singapore – The Complete Guide

by

How to open a company in Singapore

  1. The pros of opening a company in Singapore
  2. The cons of opening a company in Singapore
  3. How to open an Singapore a company without living or even go there
  4. All the documents you need to register a company in Singapore and the procedure for opening it
  5. The total cost of registering and maintaining a company in Singapore
  6. How to open a multi-currencies business bank account in Singapore
  7. Frequently asked questions
  8. Get a free quotation from an agency that can help you to set up your Singapore company

If you want to request directly a quotation to the agency that we recommend, click here

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

How to Open a Company in Vietnam as a Foreigner

by Leave a Comment

How to Open a Company in Vietnam

  1. The pros of opening a company in Vietnam
  2. The cons of opening a company in Vietnam
  3. How to open a company in Vietnam
  4. The total cost of registering and maintaining a company in Vietnam
  5. How to open a business bank account in Vietnam
  6. Frequently asked questions
  7. Get a free quotation from an agency that can help you to set up your Vietnam company

The pros of opening a company in Vietnam

  • Contrary to many other countries, businesses are not required to have minimum capital for most businesses in Vietnam. You can start a business without a large amount of charter capital in your pocket. You just need to make sure you have enough money to cover the expected costs of the company;

  • Vietnam is witnessing rapid changes in population and social structure. Vietnam’s population has increased to about 97 million in 2018 (from about 60 million in 1986) and is expected to increase to 120 million by 2050. Currently, 70% of the population is under the age of 35.

    The young labor force is very large and shows no sign of decreasing. In addition, the country has invested a lot of resources in education. Therefore, in addition to health, young Vietnamese workers are also skilled.

    Finally, salaries in Vietnam are very competitive, even for skilled workers;

    • [Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

How to Open a Company in Taiwan as a Foreigner

by Leave a Comment

How to Open a Company in Taiwan

  1. The pros of opening a company in Taiwan
  2. The cons of opening a company in Taiwan
  3. How to open a company in Taiwan
  4. The total cost of registering and maintaining a company in Taiwan
  5. How to open a multi-currency business bank account in Taiwan
  6. Frequently asked questions
  7. Get a free quotation from an agency that can help you to set up your Taiwan company

The pros of opening a company in Taiwan

  • In order to solve the employment problem and attract foreigners with expertise, the Taiwan government provided with Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers and tax incentives. Foreigners can get a work permit easier than in many other Asian countries and enjoy the favorable income tax rate;
  • Taiwan’s corporate income tax rate is 20%, comparatively lower than Japan, Korea, China. The VAT rate is 5%, which is also lower than Japan, Korea, China, and Singapore;
  • It is relatively easy, when compared to other Asian countries, to open a business bank account and transfer funds, if you can provide the required documents;
  • The Taiwan government established the special-purpose zones that can meet changing business needs. At present, there are 174 industrial parks, 10 export processing zones, 3 science parks, 2 agricultural technology parks, 4 environmental science, and technology parks, and 7 free trade zones;

    • [Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

How to open a Multi-currency Business Account in Singapore

by Leave a Comment

Multi-currency Business Account in Singapore

  1. What are your options?
  2. How to open an Aspire business account in Singapore
  3. How to open a “traditional” business account in Singapore
  4. How to open an offshore business account
  5. Are you looking for an agency that can help you to set up your Singapore company?

Singapore is Southeast Asia’s leading business hub with some of the region’s lowest taxes. Not surprisingly, many foreign companies decide to open a company in Singapore and use it as the base of their operations.

However, along with a great influx of investors, new foreign companies, and more stringent anti-money laundering laws, it’s become increasingly more difficult to open local business accounts as well.

This is not only a trend we’ve seen in Singapore but in Hong Kong, which brings many similarities to the nation. Due to the increased amount of problems to open business accounts, smart entrepreneurs, often with years of experience in banking, have come up with FinTech solutions to make it easier for companies to open local business accounts.

In this article, we present what options you have when opening a business account in Singapore, what the pros and cons are, how much it costs, what documents you need, and more. [Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

Open an Online Shop on Taobao: Complete Guide

by Leave a Comment

Open an Online Shop on Taobao

Open an Online Shop on Taobao – Index

  1. What is Taobao?
  2. Who can open a Taobao shop?
  3. What do I need to open a Taobao shop?
  4. What is the procedure to open a Taobao shop?
  5. What are some popular products on Taobao?

China. 1.4 billion people with a huge consumer market that get an increased appetite for foreign products. In the past years, we’ve seen increasingly more foreign brands that want to enter the Chinese markets thanks to the many opportunities offered.

Many companies prefer selling online via cross-border eCommerce and on websites like Kaola.com, JD.hk, and Tmall.hk. That said, you shouldn’t neglect Taobao.com where entry requirements are lower and where sellers pay substantially lower fees.

Today, we review Taobao, how you can sell there, what you need, and more.

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

How to Hire a Freelancer in Asia : The Complete Guide

by Leave a Comment

How to Hire a Freelancer in Asia

How to Hire a Freelancer in Asia – Index

  1. What is a freelancer?
  2. What are the benefits of hiring freelancers?
  3. What are the cons?
  4. How is the process when hiring freelancers?
  5. What are the best websites to find freelancers?

Along with globalization and digitization, more and more people pursue a career as freelancers. Hiring freelancers is easy and borders are no longer limitations to companies who wish to find highly skilled people in specific industries worldwide.

Freelancers and remote workers are here to stay and we see a trend where millennials especially prefer to be more independent and be able to choose their work location.

In this article, we explain what the benefits are of hiring freelancers, how the process is, how much it costs, and more.

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

How to Welcome Chinese Guests: The Complete Guide

by Leave a Comment

Welcoming Chinese guests

Welcoming Chinese guests – Index

  1. The Chinese at the table
  2. Little tricks
  3. Being a guide for the Chinese
  4. Final notes

Chinese tourism is in exponential growth worldwide, with an increasing standard of living allowing more and more people the chance to travel.

Sadly, quite often there are linguistic misunderstandings because our almond-eyed friends don’t always know foreign languages, and those who host them often don’t speak the tiniest bit of Chinese, as well as cultural problems due to the different customs and ways of doing things (even those of us in China are considered “strange” for more than one reason).

In this brief guide I want to share a few experiences from over the years with Chinese friends and tourists who came to Italy and also those I directly knew in China.

I’m sure they’ll be useful for welcoming Chinese guests the best way possible, whether on vacation or for work, when they come to your country, as well as for better understanding their culture when traveling in the Middle Kingdom.

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

Accounting Software for Your Taiwan Company

by Leave a Comment

Accounting Software for Your Taiwan Company

Accounting Software for Your Taiwan Company – Index

  1. Own Biz Accounting
  2. QuickBooks
  3. Fresh Books
  4. Manager
  5. GnuCash
  6. Wave Financial

Accounting software is a great tool for small and medium-sized companies that want to save time, money, and allocate resources elsewhere. In Taiwan, you’ll be able to find both local and international accounting software that cost everything from zero up to around 10 US dollars every month.

If you’re based in Taiwan and look for this kind of tool, don’t look any further. In this article, we list some of the most popular software available, including information about the companies, the features, packages & pricing, and integrations. Let’s get started.

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

Accounting Software for Your Chinese Company

by 1 Comment

Accounting Softwares for Your Chinese Company

Accounting Software for Your Chinese Company – Index

  1. Softdrive
  2. Megi
  3. Yonyou (用友)
  4. Kingdee KIS
  5. Akaunting
  6. Manager

Do you have a company or plan to start a business in China and need an accounting software solution? There are plenty of services available in the Chinese market, both free and paid versions, that we explain more about in this article.

In this article, we list some of the most popular companies that provide software accounting solutions to small, medium, and large-sized businesses in China. If you have any other recommendations, feel free to drop a comment below.

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

Accounting Software for Your Singapore Company

by Leave a Comment

Accounting software for Your Singapore Company

Accounting Software for Your Singapore Company – Index

  1. Sage
  2. Xero
  3. EZ Accounting
  4. GnuCash
  5. QuickBooks
  6. HashMicro

Do you own or work for a Singapore company and have to find accounting software for your business? Don’t look any further.

Accounting software can help companies to save time, money, and streamline their processes. In this article, we list some of the best and most popular accounting software available in the market.

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

Accounting Software for Your Hong Kong Company

by Leave a Comment

Accounting software for Your Hong Kong Company

Accounting Software for Your Hong Kong Company – Index

  1. Xero
  2. Zoho Books
  3. QuickBooks
  4. Sage
  5. NetSuite
  6. Lobster

Accounting software has become increasingly popular among companies who want to save time, costs, streamline operations, and manage their accounts from anywhere in the world.

Traditionally, Hong Kong companies had to manage accounting at the end of the financial years and when the records were prepared for tax assessments. However, thanks to technological development you can create and manage financial records and analyze reports at any time.

In this article, we list some of the most popular accounting software available for companies that operate in the Hong Kong market.

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

Best SEO Strategies for Baidu: Our Complete Guide

by Leave a Comment

Best SEO Strategies for Baidu

Best SEO Strategies for Baidu – Index

  1. SEO Strategies for Baidu
  2. Don’t use Google Translate when doing keyword research
  3. Difference among Baidu and Google

Google was blocked in China in March 2009 and foreigners and locals must download a VPN to be able to use it. To many people’s surprise, Baidu was founded as early as 2000, but it has grown massively since Google lost a great deal of traffic to its main competitor.

If you plan to enter the Chinese market and sell online, you have to create a Chinese website that is optimized to rank well on Baidu. In this article, we explain some SEO strategies that are important to rank on Baidu, the difference between Google and Baidu, and more. Let’s get started.

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site
We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

Hosting, Domain Registration, and CDN for China

by Leave a Comment

Hosting for China

Hosting, Domain Registration, and CDN – Index

  1. Domain Registration for China
  2. Hosting for China
  3. CDN for China

Foreigners who are serious about entering the Chinese market should carefully study what measures they can take to improve Baidu SEO. You see, Google has been blocked since 2009 and Baidu is by far the most popular search engine among the Chinese.

Three of the most important things that impact Baidu SEO are your:

  • Domain Registration
  • Servers / Hosting
  • CDN (Content Delivery Network)

Even if many experts claim that a .cn domain doesn’t necessarily improve your rankings on Baidu.com there are some benefits of using a .cn domain.

First of all, by using a .cn domain, you indicate that you target the Chinese audience. As you don’t need a Chinese business license to register a .cn domain, for now, it can be worthwhile taking the opportunity while it’s possible.

Besides, Baidu is also known for giving priority based on your server location. The reason is that it’s primarily used in the Chinese market, giving benefits to practically anything Chinese.

Lastly, I also want to mention that it can be worth using a CDN (Content Delivery Network) if you want to rank high on Baidu. This is especially the case if you have trouble with slow site speeds in China. A CDN will help you, not only to improve the site speeds but add security.

In this article, we will review different service providers who can help you with domain registrations, hosting, and CDN services in China.

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

The Complete Guide for Planning your Trip to the Canton Fair

by 15 Comments

The Canton Fair

The Canton Fair is held every six months on the island of Pazhou, at the China Import and Export Fair Complex (380, Yuejiang Zhong Road, Guangzhou).

This is the biggest Commercial Exhibition Fair on the planet. Just to cite a few numbers, in the Autumn edition of 2019, around 60,000 manufacturers (or wholesalers) and 180,000 potential buyers participated.

In this article, you’ll find all you’ll need to plan your trip to the fair.

If you’ve already decided that you want to attend the Canton Fair but you don’t want to worry about organizing your trip, we can suggest a trustworthy travel agency that will do it for you. Click here to contact us.

Canton Fair – Index

  1. When does the Canton Fair begin?
  2. How to sign up for the Canton Fair
  3. Visa for the Canton Fair
  4. International flights to China
  5. How to get to Guangzhou from Hong Kong, Beijing or Shanghai
  6. Tour to attend the Canton Fair
  7. Hotels for the Canton Fair
  8. Health Insurance
  9. Internet and communications
  10. Getting around Guangzhou by taxi or metro
  11. Translators
  12. Frequently asked questions

[Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

Top 7 Trade and Commercial Fairs in Hong Kong

by Leave a Comment

Top Trade and Commercial Fairs in Hong Kong

Top Trade Fairs in Hong Kong – Index

  1. HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair
  2. Global Sources Exhibitions
  3. HKTDC Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair
  4. HKTDC Hong Kong International Lighting Fair
  5. HOFEX
  6. HKTDC Hong Kong Food Expo
  7. HKTDC Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair

In this article we list some of the top trade fairs in Hong Kong. If you are interested on trade shows based in China (Mainland), you can click here.

HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair

The HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair is one of the biggest electronics fairs in the region. Here, you’ll learn about the latest technology ideas & trends. Thousands of service providers that work with inspection, certification, testing and other related services exhibit at the fair. [Read more…]

We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site
We are reader-supported and may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site

How to transfer money to China, Hong Kong, Thailand and other countries cheaply, quickly and safely

by 2 Comments

How to send your money to Asia

How to transfer money to Asia – Index

  1. What is Wise (formerly Transferwise)?
  2. How do I sign up to use Wise?
  3. Why do I save money with Wise?
  4. Why with Wise the money arrives quicker?
  5. Is it safe to send money to Asia through Wise?
  6. In which Asian countries can you use Wise’s services?
  7. Can I also use Wise for my business?
  8. Other than Wise, are there other similar services?
  9. Other frequently asked questions

One of the most frequently heard problems of those who move to an Asian country such as Hong Kong, Thailand or Vietnam is that of sending the necessary money for initial expenses to their new country, without getting fleeced by the banks, who can make you pay up to 5% commission.

5% may seem “acceptable”, but if you send 10.000 USD we’re talking about a bank commission of 500 USD!

This goes not just for those who move for work, but above all for students, who not having a salary need to send the necessary funds from home to survive in their new country, such as Hong Kong, for example, for the entire length of study (even six months or a year).

How can you solve this problem? By using TranserWise!

Ps. I lost a ton of money transferring it via wire transfers up until last year. The reason is that, even if I was aware of the existence of Wise (formerly Transferwise), I never tried it because I thought it might be complicated and, moreover, I didn’t understand how it worked.

This is why, at the end of this article, I will explain in detail both how to use the service and the strategy (all legal and safe) that Wise uses and similar platforms to lower costs.

What is Wise (formerly Transferwise)?

Simplifying it to the extreme, TranserWise is an online platform that allows you to send money abroad that could save you up to 8 times what you would spend on bank commissions sending the same amount via wire transfer or credit card.

Wise’s commission is 0.5% for the majority of currencies; that commission can however increase depending on the currency.

To send USD from your bank account in US and receive Hong Kong Dollars in a Hong Kong bank account, for example, the commission is 0.5%. [Read more…]