Italian companies in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Abstract

According to the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, Hong Kong is the freest economy in the world, with an efficient bureaucracy and facilitated taxation. The adoption of international methods in business, the English language diffusion and the environment favorable to innovation ensure continuous and new opportunities and makes this market very attractive for foreign investors. Beginning with an historical introduction, the aim is to present the background of the region to explain how Hong Kong developed and transformed itself from a strategic port for English colonizers to one of the most important financial and business center in the world. The Hong Kong SAR, in fact, is the main gateway for foreign companies and investor that are willing to enter China, thus in this thesis a section is dedicated to the rules governing foreign activities in the region, as well as the type of business entities a foreign investor can set up in Hong Kong. The region is the main gateway for China also for Italian companies, therefore in this dissertation the past and the current situation of the relationships between Italy and the Hong Kong SAR are presented considering all the aspects: from agreements and regulations, to future intentions and changes occurred. According to the most recent surveys, the Italian companies that have in Hong Kong the Asian headquarters or the regional offices are 175, but the total number of companies with Italian interests present, Italian managers, or founded by Italians is over 400. Among them, the case of Coop Far East Ltd. will be briefly introduced as an example of Italian presence in Hong Kong.