On 14 May 2025, the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region enacted the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, introducing a new inward company re-domiciliation regime.
The legislation allows foreign-incorporated companies to transfer their domicile to Hong Kong while preserving their corporate identity and operational continuity, provided certain statutory requirements are satisfied.
This means companies incorporated in other jurisdictions can move their legal domicile to Hong Kong without dissolving and re-incorporating, allowing the business to continue operating as the same legal entity.
The new regime forms part of Hong Kong’s broader strategy to attract global businesses and investment, particularly from companies that already maintain significant operations in the region.
Hong Kong has long been recognised as a major international financial centre. The introduction of an inward re-domiciliation regime provides an additional pathway for companies seeking to align their legal domicile with their operational footprint.
Key advantages may include:
For companies currently incorporated in offshore jurisdictions but operating in Asia, the regime may offer a practical way to transition from offshore to a mid-shore jurisdiction while maintaining operational continuity.
Non-Hong Kong-incorporated companies may apply to re-domicile to Hong Kong, provided their original jurisdiction permits outbound re-domiciliation.
Common examples of eligible jurisdictions include:
Applicants must have been incorporated for at least one financial year prior to submitting an application for re-domiciliation.
One of the central features of the regime is corporate continuity.
When a company re-domiciles to Hong Kong:
This allows businesses to relocate their legal domicile without disrupting existing operations or contractual arrangements.
Where profits remain subject to taxation in the original jurisdiction following re-domiciliation, the Hong Kong Government may provide unilateral tax credits to mitigate the risk of double taxation.
Once re-domiciled, the company will be treated as incorporated in Hong Kong for legal and regulatory purposes.
Re-domiciled companies will enjoy the same rights as locally incorporated entities of the same type.
They must also comply with Hong Kong’s statutory and regulatory requirements, including applicable company law, governance and reporting obligations.
The re-domiciliation regime came into force on 23 May 2025.
The Hong Kong Companies Registry is responsible for administering the new framework and has introduced a dedicated online section outlining:
System upgrades to the Integrated Companies Registry Information System (ICRIS) are intended to support efficient processing of re-domiciliation applications.
Ascentium supports businesses evaluating corporate re-domiciliation and jurisdictional structuring decisions.
Our teams assist with:
For businesses considering relocating their corporate domicile, careful planning is essential to ensure regulatory compliance and operational continuity.