Shipping Service Company

Specific Arrangements for CEPA

Hong Kong and Macau service suppliers are permitted to establish wholly-owned shipping service companies to provide solicitation, B/L issuing, freight settlement and service agreement signing and other services in mainland China.

Requirements for Service Supplier

• It shall have more than 15 years' qualifications and record of service in shipping
• It shall have a resident representative office approved by the Ministry of Communications (MOCOM) for more than 3 years in the port city where the proposed wholly-owned shipping company will locate
• Liner vessels shall berth at the city port where the proposed wholly-owned shipping company will locate, at least once a month (those approved to have the management right to the sea route in the cooperative form of joint dispatch, slots exchange, joint operations and others, shall be deemed meeting this requirement)
• Being a foreign shipping merchant in the operation of tramp service, who shall have a stable supply of goods from China
• It operates in China consecutively for 2 years without committing any breach of Chinese laws

Requirements for Creation of Company

• With registered capital not less than USD1 million
• With Chinese staff accounting for more than 85%

Requirements for Branches Setup

Creation of a branch shall meet following requirements:

• Its registered capital is fully paid, and it started operation for more than 1 year
• The parent company of the wholly-owned shipping company already has liner vessel berth at the port where the proposed branch locates
• The parent company of the wholly-owned shipping company has a resident representative office approved by the MOCOM for more than 1 year in the city where the proposed branch will be set up
• The wholly-owned shipping company and its parent company both operate in China consecutively for 1 year without committing any breach of laws
• The wholly-owned shipping company shall increase its registered capital by more than US$ 120,000 for the creation of every new branch

Required Information

• Certificate of Hong Kong and Macau service supplier
• Application for incorporation
• Feasibility study report
• Company's application form and articles of association
• The investor's business registration certificate and credit certificate
• The appointment letter of legal representative, and register and curricula vitae of members of the Board
• The investor's B/L sample
• The duplicated documentation of the approval documents for operation of the sea route and the approval documents of the resident representative office
• Certificate of business ground of the corporation

If you would like further information concerning Shipping Service Company Incorporation, please contact our professionals and we will provide you with free advisory.