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Wholly foreign owned enterprise setting up in China

Last Updated: July 22, 2010

[ NEWS! ] RMB 100,000 ~ RMB 500,000 (approx. USD 15,000 ~ 70,000) is minimum registered capital for Consulting WFOE, Service WFOE, Hi-Tech WFOE incorporation in Shanghai, Beijing and rest cities of China. Information provided below will guide you to:

Documents Required & Registration Procedures of WFOE

Condition(s):

Consulting WFOE, Service WFOE, IT WFOE minimum registered capital: RMB 100,000 ~~ 500,000, while most districts of Shanghai already refused to approve registered capital below RMB 300,000 since the begin of 2009.

For the Trading or Manufacturing WFOE registration in China, our suggestted minimum registered capital is still 140,000 USD or 100,000 EURO (20% as initial paid-up within 3 months and the balance 80% should be injected within 2 years)

For Food & Beverage WFOE setting up, the minimum registered capital would be RMB 500,000 (20% as initial paid-up within 3 months and the balance 80% should be injected within 2 years)

Below are the documentation of WFOE formation in China, Item 1,2,7,8 should be prepared before visit China:

Documents required

  • 2x Certificate of Incorporations, or Articles of formation or Equivalent document certified by Chinese embassy or Chinese consulate overseas [ Samplecontract: UK , US, HK,AUS, RUS, SGP, GER, SWE, ISL etc. ] For individual investor: 2x Passport copies of Investors need be certified by Chinese embassy or consulate. [ Samplecontract:individual investor] Double check with us if individual investor is in China currently as some cities of China allow individual investor to submit with original passport only.
  • 2x Bank Reference Letters from investor’s bank to declare a good standing [contract Sample ]
  • Passport copy of: (i) Parent company's director (ii) China company's Legal Representative and (iii) China company's supervisor
  • China Legal Representative provides: 6 photos (2 inches size), brief resume [ Sample ]
  • Registered capital; Business Scope; 8 proposed Chinese names of China company
  • Office address in China, 2x leasing contracts [contract Sample ] , 2x certificate of real estate ownership [Sample], and 2x landlord identification [ Individual, Company ]
  • 4x Letter of Authorization [contract Sample ]
  • Only a Trading WFOE need these documents: The latest annual audit report copy from the parent company which provided by a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) [contract Sample ] and Custom HS Code of proposed Import/Export products in China [ Codes ]

The above documents are enough to register a Trading WFOE, Service WFOE & Consulting WFOE. But you will have to prepare following extra documents if investors want to incorporate a Manufacturing WFOE in China:

  • Purpose and estimated investment
  • WFOE's operational structure and number of employees
  • Permission for land use, environment evaluation report
  • Products, size of production, detailed list of equipment, and business plan
  • Environmental protection measures
  • Requirement for utilities such as power and water supply

Registration Procedures

Foreign investors are not allowed to directly submit the application documents of incorporate WFOE to the relevant authority in China. They must retain a PRC entity that is authorized or permitted by relevant authorities to act as a sponsor. The sponsor will submit all the documents to the examination and approval authority on behalf of the foreign investor. Procedures of setting up the Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise in China are as following:

  • Name registration with State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC)
  • Certificate of Approval by Ministry Of Commerce or Foreign Economical Cooperation Bureau
  • Apply for Business License with SAIC
  • Chops made by Public Security Bureau (PSB)
  • Organization Code License by Technical Supervision Bureau (TSB)
  • Tax Certificate by Taxation Bureau
  • Registration and Approval with State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)
  • Open Foreign Currency and RMB bank account
  • Inject Capital from investor’s overseas bank account
  • Capital Verification Report by Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
  • Applying for Permanent Business License with SAIC
  • Financial certificate Registration
  • Statistics license Registration
  • Import/Export license (Applicable for Trading & Manufacturing WFOE only)
  • newValue Added Services: Free Visa service, 2 months accounting serivce and morearrow

More information about WFOE:

Contact Our Regional Partners in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai Hangzhou or Hong Kong for more details:


Office Time: Monday To Friday 0900AM-1730PM


Shenzhen & South China Office:
E-mail: info@pathtochina.com [or Request For Proposal]
35/F, PangLin Plaza, 2002 JiaBin Rd., Luohu District, Shenzhen 518001, China [-MAP-]
Tel:(86 755) 6128.6800 (You can inquire in English)
Associate Consultant: Ms. Elva Ma

Beijing & North China Office:
E-mail: gifty@pathtochina.com or [Request For Proposal]
5/F CBD International Mansion, 16 Yong'An Dong Li, Chao Yang District, Beijing 100022, China [-MAP-]
Tel: (8610) 5166.4212 ; 6563.7624(You can inquire in English)
Regional Consultant: Ms. Gifty Jia

Shanghai & East China Office:
E-mail: lijun@pathtochina.com [or Request For Proposal]
Suite 9B, Yin Li Tower, 485 HeNan (North) Road, Shanghai 200071, China [-MAP-]
Tel: (8621) 5108.8535 ; 5102.5278(You can inquire in English)

Regional Partner: Mr. Li Jun

Hong Kong Office:
E-mail: simon@pathtochina.com [or Request For Proposal]
Suite 1701, HeNan Building, 92 Jaffe Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong, China[-MAP-]
Tel: (852) 6877.8862 (You can inquire in English)
Regional Partner: Simon Lee
Fax: (852) 8198.0080


Hangzhou & Ningbo Liaison Office:

E-mail: hz@pathtochina.com [or Request For Proposal]
Hangzhou Liaison Office: Suite 4202, 4/F, Euro America Center[-MAP-]
18 Jiao Gong Rd., Hangzhou 310007, China
Regional Consultant: Ms. Grace Lim


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