Every Hong Kong company needs a company secretary. It is not optional, it is not a job title you can leave vacant, and getting it wrong carries real penalties. Yet for most founders it is the least interesting part of running a business, which is why the great majority outsource it to a service provider for a few thousand dollars a year.
This guide explains what the role legally involves, what the rules actually say, and how to choose a provider without overpaying or picking someone unlicensed. It then runs through the main providers in Hong Kong, from digital-first platforms built for startups to the large corporate services groups that handle listed companies. If you are still at the formation stage, our directory of company formation services is the place to start.
What a company secretary actually does
Under the Companies Ordinance, every company incorporated in Hong Kong must appoint a company secretary and keep the position filled. If you appoint an individual, they must ordinarily reside in Hong Kong. If you appoint a corporate body, it must have its registered office or a place of business here.
There is one rule that catches out a great many first-time founders. If your private company has only one director, that same person cannot also be the sole company secretary. The two roles must be held by different people. It is a deliberate check, separating the person making decisions from the person keeping the statutory records, and it is the single most common reason a solo founder ends up hiring a provider on day one.
The job itself is compliance rather than strategy. A company secretary maintains the statutory registers, files the annual return with the Companies Registry, records board minutes and resolutions, notifies the Registrar when directors, secretaries or the registered address change, and administers the Significant Controllers Register that every Hong Kong company has had to keep since 2018.
- Statutory registers: members, directors, secretaries, charges and significant controllers
- Annual return: Form NAR1, filed with the Companies Registry every year
- Change notifications: new or departing directors, change of secretary, change of registered address
- Board and shareholder records: minutes, written resolutions and AGM documentation
- Significant Controllers Register: kept at the registered office, not public, produced to law enforcement on demand
The deadline that costs money
A private company with share capital must file its annual return within 42 days of the anniversary of incorporation. File on time and the fee is HK$105. Miss the deadline and it escalates sharply: HK$870 if you are up to three months late, HK$1,740 up to six months, HK$2,610 up to nine months, and HK$3,480 beyond that.
The fee is the smaller problem. Late filing is also an offence for which the company and every responsible person, the company secretary included, can be prosecuted, with a maximum fine of HK$50,000 per breach plus a daily default fine for a continuing offence. Persistent non-compliance can end with the company being struck off. The current fee schedule is published by the Companies Registry, and it is worth checking rather than relying on a provider’s summary.
Check the licence before you pay anyone
This is the part most comparison articles skip. Since March 2018, anyone providing company secretarial services to third parties in Hong Kong must hold a Trust or Company Service Provider licence, issued by the Companies Registry under the anti-money-laundering legislation. Operating without one is a criminal offence carrying a fine of up to HK$100,000 and up to six months’ imprisonment.
You can check any provider’s licence yourself, free, on the public TCSP register at tcsp.cr.gov.hk. Reputable providers display their licence number on their own website, and the good ones put it in the footer. If a firm cannot or will not give you a licence number, that tells you what you need to know. Solicitors and accountants acting within their own regulated practice are exempt from needing a separate TCSP licence, which is worth knowing if your accountant offers to take the role on.
- Ask for the TCSP licence number and check it on the public register before signing anything
- Confirm what is included: cheap entry tiers often exclude director or shareholder changes
- Ask what a change costs: ad-hoc filings are commonly billed per event, from a few hundred dollars up
- Check whether a registered address is bundled or charged separately
- Ask who actually does the work, particularly with the very low-cost platforms
What it should cost
Pricing splits into three broad tiers. Digital-first platforms publish their rates openly and start at roughly HK$1,300 to HK$3,600 a year for the secretary role alone, with the cheaper tiers assuming a simple single-shareholder company and billing extra for changes. Fuller bundles that include a registered address and cover routine changes tend to run from around HK$3,000 to HK$8,000 a year.
Local accountancy-linked firms often quote the secretary and the registered office as separate line items, which can total something similar. The large international corporate services groups do not publish prices at all. They quote bespoke, and they are aimed at listed companies, funds and complex cross-border structures rather than a two-person startup. If you are a small company and a provider will not give you a number, you are probably not their target client.
One saving worth knowing about: if you already need a registered address, several providers bundle it with the secretary role for less than buying the two separately. The same applies if you need accounting. It is worth pricing the whole package rather than each piece, and comparing against the business services listed in our directory before you commit.
Digital-first providers, built for startups and SMEs
These platforms productise the whole thing: incorporation, secretary, registered address and often accounting, bought online with published prices. They suit founders who want it handled without meetings.
Get Started HK
A long-running Hong Kong formation agent, operating as a licensed trust or company service provider and focused on getting small companies registered quickly, often within a day or two. Incorporation packs bundle the company secretary, registered address and significant controllers register, with renewals priced separately each year. Accounting is quoted by volume, and first-year accounting and audit fees aren’t charged until about 18 months in. It suits founders, including overseas owners setting up remotely, who want a simple, low-cost start.
Where: Central, Hong Kong (World Trust Tower, Stanley Street) | Typical spend: standard incorporation pack around US$675 including government fees; secretary renewal HK$1,400 a year, registered address another HK$1,400
Good to know: Fixed prices cover incorporation and the secretary role only, so get a quote for accounting and for any later company changes, which are priced case by case.
Sleek
One of the better-known digital corporate services platforms in the region, offering incorporation, company secretary, accounting, tax filing and payroll through a single online account. Pricing is published and tiered by number of shareholders, with the cheaper tier covering the secretary role and the higher tier adding director and share changes. It suits startups and small companies that want everything under one login.
Where: Central, Hong Kong | Typical spend: secretary from around HK$1,300 a year, higher tiers around HK$3,800
Good to know: Check which corporate changes your tier actually includes, as the entry price assumes a simple structure.
Osome
An app and chat-led platform covering incorporation, company secretary, bookkeeping, accounting and audit support, aimed squarely at founders and small teams. It publishes standalone and bundled pricing, with the higher tier covering unlimited routine corporate actions. Support is handled largely through in-app messaging rather than a named account manager.
Typical spend: secretary from around HK$1,400 a year bundled, or around HK$3,600 standalone; registered address extra
Good to know: The standalone tier is worth it if you expect share issues or director changes in the year.
Air Corporate
A Hong Kong platform that leans towards overseas founders incorporating remotely, with flat all-inclusive pricing and responsive messaging support. Its company secretary package bundles the registered address, designated representative, annual return filing and statutory registers into a single annual fee, which makes the total cost easy to predict.
Where: Quarry Bay, Hong Kong | Typical spend: around US$955 a year, all-inclusive
Good to know: The all-in flat fee suits founders who dislike per-event billing surprises.
Startupr
A budget-oriented option for very early-stage companies and solo founders, bundling twelve months of company secretary and a registered address into the first-year incorporation price. Renewal pricing from year two is not clearly published, so ask for it in writing before you commit rather than assuming the first-year rate continues.
Typical spend: first-year incorporation bundles from around US$699; renewal quoted on request
Good to know: Get the year-two renewal fee confirmed in writing up front.
Accountancy-led and local firms
These are traditional practices offering corporate services alongside audit and tax. They suit companies that want a named person to call and an accountant already across the numbers.
Kaizen
A long-established Hong Kong CPA practice offering unbundled corporate services with named fees per service rather than packaged plans, covering incorporation, company secretary, registered office, accounting, audit, tax and trademark work. It suits founders who want to buy exactly what they need and nothing else, and it has strong experience with Mainland Chinese and overseas clients.
Where: Kwun Tong, Kowloon | Typical spend: nominee company secretary around US$460 a year; registered office around US$360 a year
Good to know: Confirm the licensing position, as accountancy practices may rely on a professional exemption rather than a separate TCSP licence.
3E Accounting Hong Kong
Part of a Singapore-headquartered regional accounting and corporate services network, offering company secretary alongside incorporation, accounting, tax, payroll, virtual office and work-visa support. Pricing for the secretary role is quotation-based rather than published, so you will need to ask. It displays its TCSP licence documentation on its own contact page, which is a good sign.
Where: Central, Hong Kong | Typical spend: quotation-based; not published
Good to know: Useful if you want accounting and company secretary handled by the same practice.
Large corporate services groups
These are the firms that service listed companies, funds and multinationals. Pricing is bespoke and generally well above the platforms, but so is the scope of what they handle.
Vistra, incorporating Tricor
Worth being clear about, because a great many comparison articles still list these as two competing firms. Vistra and Tricor completed a merger in 2023 and have operated as a single brand since 2024. The combined group is one of the largest corporate services providers in Hong Kong, particularly strong in listed-company secretarial work, share registry, IPO support and fund administration, and it also serves private companies.
Where: Causeway Bay, Hong Kong | Typical spend: bespoke; not published
Good to know: Tricor and Vistra are the same group now, so do not treat them as two quotes.
BoardRoom
An Asia-Pacific corporate services and share registry group with around half a century of history, covering company secretary, incorporation, accounting, payroll, share registry, tax and employee share plan administration. It serves both listed issuers and private companies, and can provide named company secretary and authorised representative services for listed entities.
Where: North Point, Hong Kong | Typical spend: bespoke; not published
Good to know: A sensible shortlist entry if you are heading towards a listing or already have a share registry need.
Hawksford
An international corporate, private client and fund services group offering entity formation and administration, company secretary, director services, compliance, accounting and payroll. It tends to suit growth-stage and mid-market businesses expanding into or out of Hong Kong, and families with cross-border structures.
Where: Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon | Typical spend: bespoke; not published
Good to know: Better suited to multi-jurisdiction structures than a single Hong Kong company.
TMF Group
A global administrative services group present in Hong Kong since 1994, handling company secretarial work for multinationals and complex structures alongside formation across Hong Kong, the BVI and Cayman, liquidation, accounting, payroll and trust administration. It is aimed at the corporate end of the market rather than startups.
Where: Causeway Bay, Hong Kong | Typical spend: bespoke; not published
Good to know: Worth approaching if your structure spans several jurisdictions.
Good to know
A short checklist before you appoint anyone:
- Verify the TCSP licence on the Companies Registry public register. It takes a minute and it is the single best filter.
- Diarise the annual return date yourself rather than relying entirely on the provider, since the penalties fall on the company too.
- Remember the sole-director rule: one director cannot also be the sole company secretary.
- Compare like for like: a cheap headline fee that excludes changes can cost more than an inclusive one.
- Ask about exit: how easily can you transfer the registers and the role to another provider later?
- Keep your own copies of the statutory registers and filings, whoever holds the role.
Appointing a company secretary is a small decision with a long tail, so it is worth ten minutes of checking rather than clicking the cheapest option. Prices, packages and licence status all change, so confirm the current position with any provider before you sign.
If you are still setting up, browse company formation services and our wider list of business services in Hong Kong. Run a corporate services firm yourself? List it on advertise.hk so founders searching for a provider can find you. This guide is general information, not legal advice, so take professional advice on your own circumstance
