Anyone who forms companies, acts as company secretary, provides a registered office or holds nominee positions in Hong Kong as a business must hold a Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSP) licence issued by the Registrar of Companies under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance. The requirement has been in force since 1 March 2018. Every licence has a number in the form TC followed by six digits, and the public register of licensees on the Companies Registry website shows whether a given firm holds one and whether it is current. Native Group Limited holds licence TC010379.
How to check a licence in two minutes
- Open the TCSP licensing regime portal of the Hong Kong Companies Registry (tcsp.cr.gov.hk) and choose the register of licensees.
- Search by the provider’s company name or by the licence number it quotes.
- Check that the name in the register is the legal entity you are contracting with, not a similar-sounding brand, and that the licence status is current.
- Ask the provider to quote the licence number in its engagement letter or agreement. A licensed firm has no reason to hesitate.
What the licence obliges the provider to do
A licensed TCSP must pass a fit-and-proper test for the firm and for each of its directors and beneficial owners, must identify and verify every client and beneficial owner before acting, must understand the purpose of the business and monitor the relationship, must keep records for at least five years after the relationship ends, and must report suspicious activity. The licence is granted for three years and renewed on application, and the Registrar can inspect the firm, impose conditions and revoke it. Carrying on the business without a licence is an offence punishable by a fine and imprisonment.
What it means for you as a client
A licensed provider will ask for your passport, your address, the story of your business and the source of your funds before it incorporates anything. That is not bureaucracy for its own sake: it is the same information a bank will ask for a month later, and a provider that has already verified it can vouch for the file. Conversely, a firm that offers a Hong Kong company with no questions asked is either unlicensed or not doing what its licence requires, and its clients inherit that risk when the bank, the auditor or the Registry asks who did the due diligence.
Red flags
- No licence number on the website, the agreement or the invoice, or a number that does not match the register.
- The registered office offered is an address the provider itself does not occupy or control.
- Incorporation promised without identification of the beneficial owner, or a bank account promised as a certainty.
- Nominee directors or shareholders offered as a way to hide ownership rather than as a disclosed, documented arrangement.
- The contracting entity is offshore or abroad while the service is delivered in Hong Kong.
Frequently asked questions
Is a TCSP licence the same as a law firm or accounting licence?
No. Solicitors and certified public accountants are regulated by their own professional bodies and are exempt from the TCSP licence when they provide these services in that capacity. Every other provider needs the licence.
Does the licence guarantee the quality of the service?
It guarantees that the firm and its owners have been vetted and that it is subject to inspection and to the anti-money-laundering rules. Quality, responsiveness and pricing are matters for the agreement you sign; the licence is the floor, not the ceiling.
Can I check the licence of a Russian-speaking agent who sells Hong Kong companies from abroad?
Only a Hong Kong entity can hold the licence. Ask which licensed Hong Kong firm will actually be the company secretary and registered office, and check that firm in the register. If the answer is vague, the agent is reselling someone else’s licence or nobody’s.
What is NGL’s licence number?
TC010379, issued to Native Group Limited by the Registrar of Companies, Hong Kong. It appears on our website, agreements and invoices and can be checked in the public register.
About NGL
Native Group Limited is a Hong Kong corporate services firm founded by professionals from banking and finance, licensed under TCSP licence TC010379 and working in English, Russian and Chinese. We incorporate and administer companies in Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius and Cyprus and support clients with accounting, audit, tax, bank accounts and regulated licensing. info@ngl.hk, +852 5547 5652.
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