The People’s Republic of China regained sovereignty over Hong Kong from Britain in 1997, from which point it has been a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the country. However, the way in which the city is governed is still fundamentally different from the Chinese mainland – a fact that is reflected in its slogan of “One Country, Two Systems”. Hong Kong is largely autonomous from China, and foreign companies will quickly discover that the rules of doing business in the mainland simply do not apply in Hong Kong, and vice versa. For this reason, Hong Kong has long held a reputation as a popular “gateway” to invest in China. Its geographical proximity to the mainland, double taxation agreement (DTA) network, modern banking system, and transparent legal regime have made it an ideal location for foreign businesses to easily operate in. Despite the recent unrest and the COVID-19 epidemic, Hong Kong remains the biggest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into China and a global financial hub. The latter will be further strengthened with the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). This publication, designed to introduce the fundamentals of doing business in Hong Kong, was created in May 2022 using the most up-to-date information at the time. It was compiled by Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice that provides corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence, and financial review services to multinationals investing in emerging Asia. | 