Business owners can use the SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF) grant to expand their operations abroad. Certain criteria must be fulfilled by any Hong Kong SME seeking to receive a grant. The Hong Kong government requires criteria to confirm SME legitimacy and genuine need for an EMF grant.
Eligibility Requirements
- The most important requirement to be fulfilled by any SME to receive an EMF grant is that the SME in question must have been registered in Hong Kong.
- This registration must have been completed according to the specifications of the Business Registration Ordinance which governs all business activities in Hong Kong.
- The SME must also be able to be officially defined by the government of Hong Kong as an SME. Manufacturing companies are SMES if they employ fewer than 100 employees in Hong Kong. Any other company is an SME when it employs fewer than 50 employees in Hong Kong.
- When an SME applies to the authorities to obtain the grant, the SME must also have substantive business operations in Hong Kong at that time.
- Should the SME have its primary location of business operations outside Hong Kong or hold a shell business registration, it will be denied this privileged status.
Grant limitations
Total EMF grants received by an SME must not exceed the current cumulative upper limit. Enterprises with similar business registration details will be regarded as enterprises which are connected. For such purposes, all such connected enterprises are regarded by the authorities as being the same enterprise.
The combined EMF grants for connected enterprises must not exceed the cumulative upper limit.
Exclusions
However, to qualify for an EMF grant, an SME cannot be involved in organizing or providing services for the related activity.
All EMF grants and all Hong Kong SMEs’ eligibility for them is determined by the Trade and Industry Department (TID). The TID oversees small businesses and traders operating in the international market. It also promotes Hong Kong’s international trade activities through international and intranational trade agreements. Thus, it oversees SMEs’ applications for the receiving of EMF grants.
International Taxation
International tax planning is another area relevant to Hong Kong businesses operating abroad.
If you have any issues regarding international tax planning matters related to your company, we at Paul Hype Page & Co. will be able to assist you. We will work with you to enable you to best understand the methods and strategies which could be used for your company to fulfil its tax obligations. We will also help you understand how to use international tax planning to save on tax expenses legally and ethically.
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
More Business Insights
Why do many Hong Kong’s SMEs expand operations overseas?
Which Industries of Hong Kong contain the most SMEs in 2024?
Why was the Companies Ordinance Revised?
How To Market a Hong Kong SME
Funding for Entrepreneurs in Hong Kong
