HONG KONG – Total 1,079 non-Hong Kong companies registered newly to do business in the special administrative region in 2024, taking the total number of such firms to 15,126, up 2 percent compared to 2023, an all-time high figure.

According to statistics released by the Companies Registry on Friday, 145,053 local companies registered newly last year, which took the total number of local companies registered under the Companies Ordinance to 1,460,494.

Compared with the number of newly registered companies in 2023, the number was 29,736 higher, which is also an all-time high figure, the data showed.

READ MORE: HK crowned world’s freest economy

On the registration of limited partnership funds (LPFs), total 292 LPFs were newly registered last year. By the end of 2024, the total number of LPFs was 997, up 35.28 percent year-on-year.

The data also showed that 231 open-ended fund companies were newly incorporated in 2024.

As regards the licensing of trust or company service providers under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, total 798 new licenses were granted by the Companies Registry last year. By the end of 2024, the total number of licensees was 6,817.

Releasing the data, the government referred to two legislative amendment exercises to enhance the Companies Ordinance.

ALSO READ: Hong Kong sees 10% rise in registry of non-local firms in 2024

The first exercise aims at enabling listed companies incorporated in the city to hold shares bought back in the treasury and dispose of them, and promoting paperless corporate communication for both listed and unlisted Hong Kong companies.

New arrangements under the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2024, which was passed by the Legislative Council on Jan 8 this year, will come into effect three months after the government gazettes the amendment ordinance to allow sufficient time for the relevant companies to make preparations.

READ MORE: HK sees record highs in registry of local, non-local firms in H1

The second exercise aims at introducing a company re-domiciliation regime to enable non-Hong Kong-incorporated firms to re-domicile to the SAR while maintaining their legal identities as a body corporate and ensuring business continuity without the need to go through judicial procedures.

The relevant Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024 was introduced into the LegCo for the First Reading on Jan 8.