Hong Kong beats Singapore as APAC's easiest city for financial compliance

It remains one of the easiest locations to do business globally.

Hong Kong retained the top spot as the easiest jurisdiction for financial compliance in Asia Pacific, according to a report from TMF Group.

The city’s prime business conditions and strong tax frameworks enable enterprises to better do business within the SAR whilst its depth of financial expertise in the region is attracting investment in droves.

“A leader in business and banking, Hong Kong has long been a safe haven for businesses in Asia, seen as a familiar jumping-off point into further investment in the region,” the report added.

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Hong Kong ranks 91st globally as the closer the ranking is to 94, the least complex financial processes are. Singapore only scored 85 whilst Japan stood at 84. New Zealand and Myanmar were able to score 82 and 79 respectively.

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The Cayman Islands remained the least complex jurisdiction for financial compliance for the second year in a row after gaining a score of 94 and leading the world in terms of compliance, tax and bookkeeping.

The report also noted that Hong Kong is expected to enact the BEPS bill into law by the end of the year which will include changes to codify transfer pricing, introduce CbCR, Master File and Local File transfer pricing documentation, and expand the Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) regime which is set to give further clarity to businesses operating in Hong Kong.