As APEC 2026 puts Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area in the international spotlight, APEC 2026 Hong Kong business opportunities are also attracting attention from foreign companies looking for a strategic base for China and wider Asia-Pacific expansion.
Where should we establish a base for long-term business in Asia?
With Shenzhen at the centre of APEC 2026 activity, attention is naturally turning toward the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). For international companies that want access to Mainland China while maintaining a globally connected corporate platform, Hong Kong remains an important option.
Here are seven reasons foreign companies continue to consider Hong Kong for regional expansion.
Hong Kong occupies a distinctive position within the Greater Bay Area, alongside major Mainland business centres including Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
This makes Hong Kong particularly relevant for international companies that want to develop business relationships in Mainland China while maintaining an internationally oriented corporate base.
A company might, for example, establish its regional or trading entity in Hong Kong while developing suppliers, customers, investments or operating entities in Shenzhen, Guangzhou or elsewhere in Mainland China.
For companies exploring opportunities around APEC 2026, the value of Hong Kong therefore extends beyond the city itself.
It can form part of a broader Hong Kong + Shenzhen + Greater Bay Area strategy.
Foreign investors entering a new market often need more than market opportunities. They also need a corporate environment that international shareholders, banks, professional advisers and business partners can understand.
Hong Kong has a mature corporate and professional-services ecosystem covering areas such as:
Hong Kong private companies must have at least one natural-person director and a company secretary. Importantly for overseas investors, the Companies Ordinance does not require a director to be a Hong Kong resident.
This makes Hong Kong accessible to entrepreneurs and corporate groups establishing an overseas structure.
Taxation remains one of Hong Kong’s strongest business attractions.
Hong Kong generally applies a territorial basis of taxation, under which the source of profits is an important factor in determining profits-tax liability.
For corporations qualifying for the two-tiered profits-tax regime, the first HK$2 million of assessable profits is taxed at 8.25%, while assessable profits above HK$2 million are generally taxed at 16.5%.
However, international businesses should not assume that all foreign income is automatically exempt. Hong Kong’s Foreign-sourced Income Exemption regime contains specific rules for certain foreign-sourced income received in Hong Kong by members of multinational enterprise groups.
Proper tax structuring and substance therefore remain important.
Hong Kong has long played an important role in international trade and cross-border business.
For foreign companies sourcing products from China, selling internationally or coordinating regional transactions, a Hong Kong company may be used as part of a structure connecting:
Overseas Market → Hong Kong → Mainland China
or:
Mainland China → Hong Kong → Global Market
The appropriate structure will depend on where contracts are signed, where operations take place, where employees are located, where goods move and where profits are generated.
This is why company incorporation should not be treated as an isolated administrative exercise.
Businesses should consider the entire operating model—including banking, taxation, invoicing, supply chains and Mainland China operations—before deciding on the structure.
APEC 2026 gives international businesses another reason to examine the relationship between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Rather than viewing them simply as competing locations, foreign companies can consider how the two cities complement each other.
Shenzhen offers access to one of China’s most dynamic technology, innovation, manufacturing and supply-chain ecosystems.
Hong Kong, meanwhile, provides an internationally connected platform for finance, professional services, corporate structuring and cross-border business.
For some investors, the stronger model may therefore not be Hong Kong or Shenzhen.
It may be:
Hong Kong + Shenzhen.
A Hong Kong entity can support international-facing activities while a Shenzhen company or other Mainland entity manages operations requiring a direct presence inside Mainland China.
Companies expanding across borders frequently need much more than a business registration certificate.
They may require:
Hong Kong’s established financial and professional-services sectors make it particularly relevant for businesses coordinating activities across multiple jurisdictions.
Hong Kong also maintains comprehensive double-taxation agreements and arrangements with trading partners, which can provide greater certainty regarding taxing rights in qualifying cross-border situations.
APEC includes economies across the Asia-Pacific, but companies entering the region rarely operate in only one market.
A business may source from China, sell into Southeast Asia, raise capital internationally and manage regional contracts from another jurisdiction.
Hong Kong can therefore be considered not merely as a destination market, but as part of a broader regional corporate structure.
Depending on the company’s business model, Hong Kong may serve as a:
regional headquarters, trading company, investment holding platform, international contracting entity or gateway for China-related business.
That flexibility is particularly relevant as companies reassess their Asia-Pacific strategies around APEC 2026.
APEC 2026 may create new conversations, partnerships and investment opportunities, but successful market expansion requires more than attending conferences or meeting potential partners.
Businesses need to determine:
Where should the company be incorporated?
Where should the bank account be opened?
How should Mainland China operations be structured?
What are the tax and compliance implications?
Should Hong Kong, Shenzhen—or both—be part of the structure?
The right answer depends on the company’s shareholders, target customers, transaction flows, industry and long-term expansion plan.
For foreign companies considering China and the wider Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong continues to offer a compelling combination of international connectivity and proximity to Mainland China.
APEC may open the conversation. The right corporate structure turns that opportunity into a long-term business presence.
Tannet can assist international investors with Hong Kong company incorporation, company secretarial services, accounting and tax compliance, bank account opening support, and cross-border business structuring involving Hong Kong and Mainland China.
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