Record number of companies in Hong Kong

Number exceeds one million for the first time.

The Companies Registry reported that the total number of live local companies registered under the Companies Ordinance stood at 1,044,644, up 88,252 from 956,392 in 2011.

A record high of 150,165 new local companies were registered last year or an average of more than 12,500 companies incorporated each month.

Registrar of Companies Ada Chung said a total of 27,319 companies were incorporated online using the one-stop electronic company incorporation and business registration service at the e-Registry, up 79.2% over 2011.

For non-Hong Kong companies operating in the city, 686 were registered under the Companies Ordinance in 2012, 14% less than the 798 in 2011. The total number of registered non-Hong Kong companies stood at 8,848 at the end of last year.

The number of charges on assets of companies received for registration in 2012 was 31,141, down 17.3% from the 37,673 in 2011. The number of memoranda of satisfaction and releases received for registration fell 18.5%, from 27,851 in 2011 to 22,692 in 2012.

The total number of summonses issued last year against companies for breaches of the Companies Ordinance, mainly for failure to file annual returns, was 6,624, up 10.1% from the 6,016 in 2011.