Setting up a business in Chengdu

[Eugene]

Due to perpetual visa issues (i’m too young to qualify for a foreign expert visa) and the need to provide fapiaos (right now a friend’s company is helping me out), I’m thinking of opening a company in Chengdu and I was hoping to get some advice from the oldtimers.

So far the most convenient option that i came across was opening up a partnership with a Chinese company. The prices that I was quoted seemed a bit on the high side so I wanted to check whether I was being ripped off or if this is the norm.

1. The fee for company registration agency RMB 2300

2. Corporate bank account RMB 2000

3. The salary for a part-time accountant would be 7000 per year

4. National taxation Bureau: RMB 153 per year

5. Local tax: 6% turnover tax

6. Annual check and audit of finance and tax: 2000-3000 per year

7. Bank accout maintenance: would be RMB 360 per year

Aside from the general costs, my other concern was the local tax – is it really 6% of the turnover which is what my agent seems to claim, or if it’s actually 6% of the profit. I would be surprised if it was turnover but who knows.

The company would be a consultancy (language), focusing on copywriting, translations, localizations, dubbing etc

Thanks for any advice!

[Rick in China]

“partnership with a Chinese company”?

Your list seems a lil shady mate.

Read:

http://www.chinalawblog.com/2009/12/how_to_start_a_business_in_chi.html

AFAIK foreign expert CERTIFICATE does not have an *age* restriction. You just need to prove you’re qualified to be an expert in some field. This can be via advanced degree, extensive experience, or even just really high pay by a company for doing something specific. When you say “Foreign expert visa”, do you mean the 2-year Visa? or do you mean the 1-year work visa/residency?

Anyways, if you’re mostly after solving your visa issues, I think going the route of paying some Chinese company to “partner” in is a pretty bad route to go, and you’ll probably end up on the hook for something you don’t want to be on the hook for – not only that, but it’d be questionable whether it’d even be able to help you with your Visa issues.

[Rick in China]

“partnership with a Chinese company”?

Your list seems a lil shady mate.

Read:

http://www.chinalawblog.com/2009/12/how_to_start_a_business_in_chi.html

AFAIK foreign expert CERTIFICATE does not have an *age* restriction. You just need to prove you’re qualified to be an expert in some field. This can be via advanced degree, extensive experience, or even just really high pay by a company for doing something specific. When you say “Foreign expert visa”, do you mean the 2-year Visa? or do you mean the 1-year work visa/residency?

Anyways, if you’re mostly after solving your visa issues, I think going the route of paying some Chinese company to “partner” in is a pretty bad route to go, and you’ll probably end up on the hook for something you don’t want to be on the hook for – not only that, but it’d be questionable whether it’d even be able to help you with your Visa issues.

[Eugene]

Thanks for the input Rick. By partnership I mean joint venture (because from what I understand, the capital requirements for WFOE are huge) and the fees described above are what the agency quoted to me for setting up the company. As I said, I am trying to hit two rabbits with one stone as I also need to provide 税款收入 to a few clients (visa is the priority though). By my estimates, I’m going to spend around 7-8k on visa related fees + travel, so I would be happy to spend this amount of money on setting up a company anyway.

Maybe my Visa case is special but according to Wang Bin and another agency, the fact that I’m 24 and a recent graduate without the compulsory 5 years of experience behind my belt, means that it’s impossible for me to get anything but an F/L or student visa… They did however say that as a partner and a major contributor in a JV, I am entitled to a residency permit. As for the foreign expert visa, I was going for the 1 year work/residency.

[Eugene]

Thanks for the input Rick. By partnership I mean joint venture (because from what I understand, the capital requirements for WFOE are huge) and the fees described above are what the agency quoted to me for setting up the company. As I said, I am trying to hit two rabbits with one stone as I also need to provide 税款收入 to a few clients (visa is the priority though). By my estimates, I’m going to spend around 7-8k on visa related fees + travel, so I would be happy to spend this amount of money on setting up a company anyway.

Maybe my Visa case is special but according to Wang Bin and another agency, the fact that I’m 24 and a recent graduate without the compulsory 5 years of experience behind my belt, means that it’s impossible for me to get anything but an F/L or student visa… They did however say that as a partner and a major contributor in a JV, I am entitled to a residency permit. As for the foreign expert visa, I was going for the 1 year work/residency.

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