Business Compliance Changes At A Glance

According to the World Bank's 'Doing Business 2016 Report', Hong Kong continues to be one of the world's easiest places to do business, and tops the ranks in Asia Pacific for starting one. To sustain its economic growth and competitiveness, the Hong Kong government underwent three key changes in 2015: the statutory minimum wage (SMW), Competition Ordinance and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

Mark O'Sullivan, Managing Director of TMF Hong Kong, outlines the key changes that every company operating in Hong Kong should know.

Statutory minimum wage

From May last year, employers that were paying their staff an hourly wage had to meet the revised statutory minimum wage rate of HKD32.5 per hour. The aim of the SMW regime was to strike an appropriate balance between forestalling excessively low wages and minimising the loss of low-paid jobs.