According to the statistics released by the Companies Registry today (January 16), a total of 104,120 local companies were newly registered with the Registry in 2022.
The total number of local companies registered under the Companies Ordinance was 1,391,678 by the end of 2022, increasing by 16,506 compared to 2021.
During the year, the Companies Registry continued to enhance protection of sensitive personal information while maintaining the transparency and effectiveness of the Companies Register. Phase 2 of the new inspection regime of the Register commenced on October 24, 2022, protecting sensitive personal information on the Index of Directors and newly delivered documents. The last phase of the new inspection regime would commence in December 2023 whereby data subjects could apply for protecting sensitive personal information contained in documents already registered with the Registry.
In 2022, 874 non-Hong Kong companies that have newly established a place of business in Hong Kong were registered under the Companies Ordinance. The total number of registered non-Hong Kong companies was 14,533 by the end of 2022, up 1.29 per cent year on year.
The number of charges on properties of companies received for registration in 2022 was 18,024, 3.62 per cent down from 18,701 in 2021. The number of notifications of payments and releases received for registration decreased by 3.88 per cent, from 21,000 in 2021 to 20,185 in 2022.
In 2022, a total of 133 prospectuses were registered while the figure recorded in 2021 was 190.
The total number of documents delivered for registration in 2022 decreased by 4.99 per cent to 2,768,120, compared to 2,913,395 in 2021.
A total of 4,668,742 searches of document image records were conducted using the Registry’s electronic search services in 2022, a decrease of 9.79 per cent from 5,175,323 in 2021.
On the registration of limited partnership funds (LPF), a total of 167 LPFs were newly registered in 2022. The total number of LPFs by the end of 2022 was 566.
As regards the licensing of trust or company service providers under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, a total of 533 licences were granted in 2022, and the number of licensees was 6,834 by the end of 2022.
For details of the statistics, please visit the “Statistics” section of the Registry’s website (www.cr.gov.hk).
16.1.2023