South China Morning Post: Prices of Serviced Office Poised to Continue Rising The HK serviced office market has been expanding and the forecast for the next quarter is equally positive. "The demand for business centres is definitely increasing, especially in the last year and a half," says Fion Sen, Managing Director of BRIDGES. One main reason is that the international economic situation and local property market do support the continued upward trend, making the office rent of CBD’s grade-A buildings stand near record highs.

South China Morning Post: Benefits of Business - Low Tax Rates Make HK Popular Why HK has been an increasingly popular place for businesses? Simple and low tax regime with a flat corporate tax rate is definitely one key factor. "Corporations in HK are taxed at 16.5% as profits tax. In general, HK profits tax is charged on profits derived from HK on trade, professional or business activities carried out in HK," says BRIDGES’s tax adviser. "When we consider whether a profit is arising in or derived from HK, we take the following into account: what the taxpayer did to earn the profit, and where these activities were conducted."

South China Morning Post: Bank on a Complicated Process Setting up a company bank account can be more complicated than setting up the company itself. "In HK, the guideline to opening a company bank account has always been relatively rigorous," says Fion Sen, Managing Director of BRIDGES. "Generally speaking, if the business owner is not well-prepared, it can be quite a distressing and time-consuming process, and the request could be even rejected." BRIDGES offers guidance through the process. "We provide bank account opening services to all our company formation clients for free, including 5 certified copies of company documents and arranging a bank representative to come to an appointment at our centre," Sen says.

South China Morning Post: Payment Just a Few Clicks Away BRIDGES's e-payment system, available for Visa cardholders, is now making the payment process fast and easy. "Previously, if our overseas clients wanted to settle payment by credit card, they needed to scan their card on both sides and fill in an authorization form," says Fion. "With the e-payment system we recently introduced, clients can opt to settle the payment by just a few clicks." On top of this, BRIDGES also offers great discounts for Visa Commercial cardholders, including half price meeting rooms and 20% off on virtual office packages.

South China Morning Post: Serviced Office Providers Offer Convenience A high degree of flexibility and cost-effectiveness is provided by BRIDGES for people moving from a conventional office space to a contemporary serviced office. "We know that privacy is important for some companies," Fion says. "Previously, they thought we would not have such flexibility, but we have allowed them to install partitions." Cost-effectiveness is achieved by SMEs making use of BRIDGES's administration and secretarial support to handle daily tasks, such as couriers, translation services and even payroll - facilities that help save on expenditure in human resources.