Opinions, knowledge and resources from China Checkup's expert contributors
The possibility of finding details on offshore Chinese companies depends primarily on the jurisdiction in which they are registered.
Such companies aren't registered in China, so registration information isn't going to be found there. It is necessary to identify the country in which they are registered and lookup details on that country's system.
This article provides guidance, and lists useful resources, for getting registration information about offshore Chinese companies.
There are many possible definitions, but we understand an offshore Chinese company to be an entity owned/controlled by a Chinese individual or company, which is registered outside of China.
China is a place with multiple jurisdictions, so we are not talking about companies registered in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan.
Offshore Chinese companies can literally be registered anywhere. Some Chinese companies we have been asked to verify turned out to be registered in places as diverse as Australia, British Virgin Islands, Malaysia, Seychelles and the UK.
Not really, as our services are focused on companies registered in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In many cases however, we find that the owners of an Onshore Chinese company have also registered an offshore company under the same name (including a Chinese version), often with an associated offshore bank account in Mainland China.
This was the case recently when we verified a "Hangzhou" company, which we found was actually registered in the UK.
In such circumstances we can often verify whether or not there is an associated onshore entity for the offshore Chinese company.
As we mentioned earlier, the availability of information on offshore Chinese companies depends on where they are registered.
If you can identify which jurisdiction the company is registered in, you should in most cases be able to lookup their company information.
Note that data is not always available in English and many countries will charge a fee or have a time-consuming application process for accessing information.
Below are some online resources we have previously used to find details on offshore Chinese companies.
These websites can be used to make searches of companies in mutiple jurisdictions:
| Website | Available Language(s) |
|---|---|
| OpenCorporates | English |
The following websites are each country-specific and are listed in alphabetical order.
| Country | Website | Available Language(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Australia |
Australian Business Register - ABN Lookup Australian Securities & Investments Commission |
English |
| British Virgin Islands | BVI Financial Services Commission | English |
| Cayman Islands | General Registry | English |
| Italy | Infocamere | English, Italian |
| Japan | National Tax Agency | English, Japanese |
| Malaysia | The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) | English, Malay |
| New Zealand | Companies Register | English |
| Samoa | Samoa Business Registry | English |
| Seychelles | E-Service Gateway | English |
| Singapore | Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority - BizFile | English |
| Switzerland | Business Monitor | English, French, German |
| Thailand | Department of Business Development | English, Thai |
| UK | Companies House | English |
| USA - Delaware | Delaware Division of Corporations | English |
We'll add other websites to this list as and when we find and have used them. You can also take a look at the UK government's list of overseas registries if you can't find the one you are looking for here.
Do you know of any other resources for getting details of offshore Chinese companies? If so, we'd love to hear from you!
Did you know that there are 7 different regions of China which are often cited in official sources when describing China's geography, climate, economy and governance?
Each of these regions are comprised of several Chinese provinces which are in close proximity and share certain geographical and cultural similarities.
Keep reading to view a map and learn more about the 7 regions of China.
If you have done business with a Chinese company there is a good chance that their staff have provided you with a scan or photo of their China ID Card.
This ID Card, also known as the Resident Identity Card, is compulsory for all Chinese citizens and contains much information about the holder.
Each China ID Card has a unique 18-digit Citizen Identity Number and knowing this number alone can tell you the holder's date of birth, place of birth and gender.
Foreign companies are doing business in China for a wide range of different reasons - including importing, exporting, setting up joint ventures, investing, developing new markets, developing new partnerships & more - but in which Chinese provinces are these efforts focused?
Is most business done in China's gateway municipalities of Shanghai and Beijing, or do foreign companies flock to the manufacturing powerhouse provinces of Guangdong and Zhejiang?
Read this article to learn what are, according to our research, the 9 China provinces where foreign companies do business the most.
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Matt Slater
Author
Hi there, I'm Matt, the founder of China Checkup. Originally from the UK, I am now based in Brisbane, Australia.
Frustrated by the scarcity of concise, high-quality and timely information about Chinese companies, I setup China Checkup whilst living in Shanghai in 2013.
My team are proud that China Checkup's company verification reports have now helped thousands of clients from all corners of the world to do business in China more safely.