Don't force yourself to meet the BUD thresholds just to get it

With no turnover / local employees / physical office, fix those before applying; a cobbled-together project is hard to pass on completion review too

Picking the wrong fair burns money

Booths start in the tens of thousands; pick the wrong audience and it's all wasted. Research which fair draws the right buyers first; reimbursement under BUD can ease the cost

Industry Guides

Your first year in Hong Kong · Trade and cross-border e-commerce

The first-year checklist for landing in Hong Kong in trade / cross-border e-commerce: incorporate → business registration → open a corporate account → get funding (BUD) → clear customs and ship → exhibit to win customers. Honest expectations: incorporation is fast, account-opening slow (2 weeks–3 months), BUD has practical thresholds, and the customs declaration system is mid-switchover. Hong Kong barely manufactures — what you do is add value as goods pass through, and use Hong Kong as a springboard into the mainland / overseas.

This fits you if

You are in import-export trade, re-export, cross-border e-commerce, or supply chain, and want to land in Hong Kong and expand into the mainland / ASEAN / global markets.

This is not for you if

You are in tech / finance / professional services / food and retail — follow the matching industry guide; the doors and the order differ.

Key figures

Trade structure

Re-exports are ≈99% of merchandise trade

Hong Kong barely manufactures^[S02]

Incorporate → business registration → open a corporate account → get funding (BUD) → clear customs and ship → exhibit to win customers

How to apply

1
Incorporate a Hong Kong company
Where to go: the Companies Registry (online). Requirements: a director + a secretary + a registered address. Timeline: 1–7 days. Cost: on the order of a few thousand HK$ per year.
Pitfall: A purely virtual address causes trouble later with account-opening / BUD applications / receiving mail.
See:Incorporate a Hong Kong company
2
Business registration
Where to go: the Inland Revenue Department, applied for together with incorporation. Cost: about HK$2,200/year (the government adjusts it from time to time).
See:Incorporate a Hong Kong company
3
Open a corporate account
Where to go: a bank (if you run into trouble, call the HKMA hotline 2878-1133). Documents: proof of business, KYC. Timeline: 2 weeks–3 months; rejections are common.
Pitfall: Incomplete documents mean repeated resubmissions; the later you prepare, the longer it drags on.
See:Open a corporate bank account
4
Apply for BUD to expand markets
Where to go: HKPC. Requirements: turnover, ≥2 employees with 3 months of MPF, a physical office. Timeline: approval in about 60 working days. Cost: free to apply, 50% of the project self-funded.
Pitfall: The official threshold ≠ the practical one; going only by 'as long as you're not listed' is wasted effort.
See:BUD Fund
5
Clear customs and ship
Where to go: the Trade Single Window (ROCARS is being merged in, from mid-2026). Documents: import/export declaration. Timeline: declare within 14 days of shipment. Cost: on the order of tens of HK$ per declaration.
Pitfall: Missing the ROCARS switchover timing, leading to missed or late declarations.
See:Goods
6
Exhibit to win customers
Where to go: HKTDC. Documents: a booth application (reimbursable under BUD). Timeline: 3–6 months ahead. Cost: from tens of thousands of HK$.
Pitfall: Picking the wrong fair wastes budget; check first whether it draws the right buyers.
See:Goods

What the official sites won't tell you

Hong Kong barely manufactures· First-hand insight in the works
Capacity sits in the Pearl River Delta; Hong Kong handles trade, settlement, certification, and expansion — don't treat it as a factory
The customs declaration system is mid-switchover· First-hand insight in the works
ROCARS is being merged into the Trade Single Window (from mid-2026); register early and watch the official switchover notices
Don't force yourself to meet the BUD thresholds just to get it· First-hand insight in the works
With no turnover / local employees / physical office, fix those before applying; a cobbled-together project is hard to pass on completion review too
Picking the wrong fair burns money· First-hand insight in the works
Booths start in the tens of thousands; pick the wrong audience and it's all wasted. Research which fair draws the right buyers first; reimbursement under BUD can ease the cost

Next steps

01First be clear on 'why Hong Kong' → re-export / settlement / expansion, not local retail.
02Prepare the account-opening documents in parallel with incorporation → don't wait for the certificate to open the account.
03Pick one well-matched HKTDC fair → the booth can be reimbursed under BUD.

Sources