Seminar on setting up foreign-funded firms held

A scene at the Shekou Foreign Legal Assistance Center in Nanshan District. DT News

A symposium was held Saturday at the Shekou Foreign Legal Assistance Center in Nanshan District to offer information and advice to foreign investors looking to set up businesses in China.

Olivia Li, marketing manager of Shenzhen ZIX Consulting Co. Ltd., Pavel Claudiu Paul, general manager of Shenzhen Odin Logic Technology Co. Ltd., and Zhao Baolian, director of Import and Export Legal Affairs Department of Jingshi Law Firm, lectured to more than 30 attendees on how to set up a sole proprietorship as a foreign-funded company and how to control investment risks under different corporate structures.

“A limited liability company may only engage in the activities listed in its business scope as approved by the Chinese authorities. Activities conducted beyond the business scope may lead to penalties and confiscation of the illegal profit. Moreover, the negative list is updated annually by the Chinese authorities, but the negative list for free trade zones is more open to foreign investment than the one nationwide,” said Paul.

In opening a bank account, Paul suggested the applicants choose a bank based on their online systems because not all banks offer a reliable English interface. For international payments, the applicants must register with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

For tax registration and opening a bank account, the legal representatives need to be present in person as tax authorities and banks need verifications, according to Olivia Li.

If a shareholder doesn’t have a bachelor’s degree and wants to apply for a work permit, the applicant can apply if his or her pre-tax salary is four times greater than the city’s average salary of the previous year, which is around 10,467 yuan (US$1,600) in 2019. They can also apply if they accumulated a score of 60 under the city’s score-accumulations mechanism.

This was the first of a series of foreign-related lectures regarding Chinese law launched by Shekou Foreign Legal Assistance Center that was put into operation in September this year.

“The One Topic One Month series invites lawyers or experts on visas, taxes or other foreign-related fields to lecture on the issues that foreigners care most about in the form of symposiums,” Yang Yan, director of the center, said in an interview.

Shekou Foreign Legal Assistance Center is the first public legal service platform for expatriates in Guangdong Province. It offers nonprofit legal consultation, legal aid, notarization and tax and visa consultation services to expatriates in the city.