BVI holdings and a Hong Kong operating company for an online commission business
Two co-founders wanted separate ownership layers above one operating company. We coordinated a BVI holding for each founder and a Hong Kong company, validated by a licensed Hong Kong accounting partner, with fintech banking as the default route.
Updated
The challenge
Each founder wanted their own ownership layer, while the business needed one company to contract, invoice and bank.
Traditional Hong Kong banks are conservative with businesses that have no Hong Kong or mainland China link and with layered ownership.
A BVI company that receives income can fall under economic substance rules, with more reporting and higher annual cost.
Whether the Hong Kong company could treat its profits as offshore needed a technical review.
Our approach
Structure design: a Hong Kong operating company owned by one BVI holding per founder, with the BVI companies kept as pure holdings so they stay under standard compliance.
A three-way call with a licensed Hong Kong accounting (CPA) partner to validate the offshore claim, the banking risk and the practicality of the structure before anything was signed.
A KYC pack for each beneficial owner: passport, proof of address, recent personal bank statements and a structure chart.
Incorporation in sequence: first the BVI holdings through a registered agent, then the Hong Kong company, with documents issued and signed digitally.
Banking through fintech and EMI providers by default, with a traditional Hong Kong bank pursued only where realistic for the profile.
A compliance calendar: BVI annual renewal, economic substance declaration and annual financial return; Hong Kong company secretary, accounting, audit and profits tax filing. Personal tax was left to external advisers.
The outcome
A structure validated by the Hong Kong partner before incorporation, with the founders' trade-offs documented in writing.
Incorporation planned within the usual window of around three to four weeks for this structure; in practice the pace depends on how quickly documents arrive.
Banking applications started with fintech providers, keeping a traditional bank as an option rather than a dependency; approval remained with each institution.
No anonymity: the beneficial owners are disclosed to the registered agent, the banks and the authorities as required.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Approval always rests with the institution or authority.
Reviewed by the Redomiciled team on .
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