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Russian business shows growing interest in Hong Kong

The aim of his trip to Moscow is to speak about these opportunities

HONG KONG, August 27 (Itar-Tass) — More and more Russian companies consider Hong Kong, the business capital of Asia, as a platform for conducting business in China and in the region, the director of the government agency Invest Hong Kong, Simon Galpin, told Itar-Tass ahead of a trip to Moscow.

The agency consults foreign investors on business in that special administrative region of China. He said one can see that more and more companies from Russia have been demonstrating bigger interest in Hong Kong of late. Russian business circles have been actively developing business in mainland China for a long time, but they don’t always understand what Hong Kong is and what advantages it can offer, Galpin said in the interview.

The aim of his trip to Moscow is to speak about these opportunities. A business seminar presenting Hong Kong and Zhuhai as business partners in China will be held in the Russian capital on Tuesday.

The task of the company is to present Hong Kong as a centre for conducting business, to explain what advantages it can give to Russian companies, the official said.

The agency explains how quickly and easily a company can be registered there, and offers visa support. The procedure of opening a company is really very easy, he stressed. There are no demands as to the minimal registered capital – one dollar and one director is sufficient, he added.

According to Galpin, Hong Kong is part of a rapidly developing China, the second biggest economy in the world. At the same time, this territory has certain autonomy and its own freely convertible currency.

It is also important that Hong Kong has an independent legal system based on norms of the English law, he said. A low level of taxation is one more advantage, he stressed. Many sources of income are not taxable at all – there are no sales taxes, no taxes on investment activity and capital gain, he said.

Hong Kong presents big possibilities for major Russian companies on the IPO (Initial Public Offering) market, he said giving as an example listing in Hong Kong by Russia’s RUSAL aluminium giant. According to Galpin, some other Russian companies demonstrate interest in Hong Kong’s Stock Exchange.

At the moment many emitters wait for the market to stabilize a bit. However, he expressed confidence that there will be a growing number of Russian companies conducting IPOs in Hong Kong in mid- and long-term prospect. First of all these will be energy and mining companies, Galpin specified.

On the whole, the agency is ready to help any company from Russia willing to start business in Hong Kong. For example, Invest Hong Kong helped Russian painter Anastasia to organize there a school of Russian painting and a chain of galleries. He also added that the agency he leads offers free of charge consultations.