Hong Kong and Singapore look alike from a distance: English common law, low tax, fast online registration, deep banking markets, and no rule against a foreigner owning 100% of the company. For a founder who doesn’t live in either, the choice comes down to a handful of differences that cost real money or time each year.
We form companies in both, so this is not a pitch for one. Every rule below comes from the registries and tax authorities, checked in October 2026.
At a glance
| Hong Kong | Singapore | |
|---|---|---|
| Register online | Certificate normally within about an hour; HK$1,545 | Most registered soon after payment; S$300 + S$15 name |
| Local people needed | A company secretary based in Hong Kong | A director ordinarily resident in Singapore, and a resident secretary within six months |
| Tax on profits | 8.25% on the first HK$2m, 16.5% above | 17%, with partial and start-up exemptions |
| Profits from abroad | Not taxed: only Hong Kong-sourced profits are | Taxed when received in Singapore, unless an exemption applies |
| Dividends paid out | No tax, no withholding | No tax for shareholders, no withholding |
| GST / VAT | None | 9%, registration compulsory above S$1m taxable turnover |
| Audit | Every company except dormant ones | Small companies can be exempt |
| Ownership register | Significant controllers register not public | Register of controllers not public |
1. Who has to be local
This is the difference founders feel first. Hong Kong asks for no local director: one director, living anywhere, is enough. What it requires is a company secretary who is a Hong Kong resident individual or a Hong Kong company, and a sole director can’t also be the secretary. Licensed firms provide this as a service; for 818HI clients it is LAULEGA LIMITED, licence TC000573.
Singapore requires at least one director who is ordinarily resident in Singapore (Companies Act s.145), plus a resident company secretary appointed within six months. If you don’t live there, that means a nominee director. Since June 2025 nominee directors are filed with ACRA, and the nominee status shows on the company’s public business profile; who appointed them stays private.
Sources: Companies Registry: incorporation · Companies Act s.145 · ACRA: directors and secretaries · ACRA: nominee directors
2. Tax on profits, and on profits from abroad
The headline rates are close once Singapore’s exemptions are counted. Hong Kong charges 8.25% on the first HK$2 million of assessable profits and 16.5% above, with only one company in a connected group getting the lower tier. Singapore charges 17%, but the partial exemption takes 75% off the first S$10,000 and 50% off the next S$190,000 of chargeable income, and qualifying new companies get a larger start-up exemption for their first three years of assessment. For the 2026 year of assessment, Singapore also gives a 50% rebate, capped at S$40,000.
The bigger difference is where the profit comes from:
- Hong Kong taxes only profits arising in or derived from Hong Kong. Profits arising abroad aren’t taxed, even when the money comes into Hong Kong. Showing that profits are offshore takes evidence; see our guide to the offshore profits claim. A separate regime for foreign-sourced dividends, interest, IP income and disposal gains applies only to members of multinational groups.
- Singapore generally taxes foreign income when it is received in Singapore. Foreign dividends, branch profits and service income can be exempt if they were taxed abroad at a headline rate of at least 15% and other conditions are met.
Neither rule decides where you pay tax. If you run the company from another country, that country may have its own view; see company in one country, you in another. How the Hong Kong tiers work in practice is on Certanta: Hong Kong profits tax rates.
Sources: IRD: profits tax · IRD: two-tiered rates · IRD: FSIE regime · IRAS: rates and exemptions · IRAS: foreign income
3. Paying yourself: dividends
Both are simple here. Hong Kong has no withholding tax on dividends and no capital gains tax. Singapore’s one-tier system means dividends from a Singapore resident company aren’t taxed in the shareholder’s hands, and Singapore doesn’t withhold tax on dividends either. What your own country does with the dividend is the question to ask your adviser.
Sources: FSTB: Hong Kong tax policy · IRAS: dividends · IRAS: no withholding on dividends
4. GST
Hong Kong has no value-added or sales tax. Singapore has GST at 9%, and registration becomes compulsory once taxable turnover passes S$1 million, measured over the past calendar year or expected over the next twelve months. Most small companies stay below it; one selling heavily to Singapore customers should plan for it.
Sources: FSTB: no VAT in Hong Kong · IRAS: GST registration
5. The cost of keeping the company
- Audit. Every Hong Kong company except a dormant one must have its accounts audited, whatever its size. A Singapore private company that meets two of three tests (revenue up to S$10 million, assets up to S$10 million, up to 50 employees) can skip the audit, although shareholders with 5% or more can still ask for one. For a small company this is often the biggest yearly difference.
- Annual return. Hong Kong: within 42 days of the incorporation anniversary (HK$105 on time). Singapore: within seven months of the financial year end (S$60), after an AGM within six months.
- Business registration. A Hong Kong company also renews its business registration certificate: HK$2,350 for one year in 2026/27, including the levy.
- Tax filings. Hong Kong usually issues a company’s first profits tax return about 18 months after incorporation. Singapore companies file an estimate of chargeable income within three months of each year end, unless revenue is S$5 million or less and the estimate is nil.
Sources: Companies Registry: audit · ACRA: audit exemption · HK annual return · ACRA: annual return · IRD: BR fee table · IRD: block extension letter 2026/27 · IRAS: ECI
6. Treaties and what is public
Tax treaties. Singapore has DTAs, limited DTAs or exchange-of-information arrangements with around 100 jurisdictions. Hong Kong’s network of comprehensive agreements is smaller, but it includes an arrangement with Mainland China that can lower the tax withheld on dividends from a Mainland subsidiary. Which matters depends on where your customers, subsidiaries and investors are.
Public record. In both places directors and shareholders appear on the company’s public record: Hong Kong’s company particulars report lists them, and anyone can buy a Singapore business profile from ACRA. Neither publishes its register of beneficial owners.
Sources: IRD: tax treaties · IRAS: DTA list · Companies Registry: company information · ACRA: business profiles
Two founders, two answers
Invented for illustration.
- Lena lives in Munich and sources furniture from factories in Guangdong for customers in Europe. She wants to invoice in euros and dollars and pay suppliers in renminbi. Hong Kong fits: no local director, no GST, a short hop to her suppliers, and profits from sales arranged outside Hong Kong may not be taxed there. She budgets for the yearly audit.
- Arjun lives in Bangalore and runs software for clinics in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, with a seed round coming. Singapore fits: investors in the region know it, the start-up exemption helps in the first years, and a small company can skip the audit. He budgets for a nominee director until he hires someone in Singapore.
So which one?
- Choose Hong Kong if you trade with or own a company in Mainland China, invoice internationally, don’t want a nominee director, or earn mostly outside the place you incorporate.
- Choose Singapore if Southeast Asia is your market, investors expect Singapore, your company is small enough to skip the audit, or a wider treaty network matters to you.
- Either way, sort the bank account before the company, and ask an adviser in your own country how it will treat a company you control.
Still between the two?
Tell us where you live, who your customers are and what the company will do. We form companies in both and will tell you which one fits, and what it will cost each year.
Compare them with usFrequently asked questions
Is Hong Kong or Singapore better for a foreign-owned company?
Neither is better across the board. Hong Kong needs no local director, has no GST and doesn’t tax profits sourced abroad, but every company is audited. Singapore needs a resident director, taxes foreign income when it is received unless exempt, but small companies can skip the audit and its treaty network is wider.
Do I need a local director in Hong Kong or Singapore?
Not in Hong Kong: one director living anywhere is enough, though you need a Hong Kong-based company secretary. Singapore requires at least one director ordinarily resident in Singapore, which for a founder abroad usually means a nominee director.
Which has lower tax, Hong Kong or Singapore?
On small profits they are close: Hong Kong charges 8.25% on the first HK$2 million, and Singapore’s 17% is reduced by partial or start-up exemptions. The bigger difference is foreign-sourced profit, which Hong Kong doesn’t tax and Singapore taxes when received unless an exemption applies.
Does a small company need an audit in Hong Kong or Singapore?
In Hong Kong, yes: every company except a dormant one is audited. In Singapore, a private company meeting two of three tests (revenue and assets up to S$10 million each, up to 50 employees) can be exempt.
Can I open a bank account for a Hong Kong or Singapore company from abroad?
Often, but it depends on the bank, your residence and your business. Banks in both places look for a clear reason for the company to be there. See our guide to opening a Hong Kong bank account remotely, and plan the bank before you form the company.
General information for internationally mobile founders, not tax, legal or immigration advice for your situation. Rules and fees change; confirm your position with a qualified adviser in each country involved before acting.