Setting Up Your China WFOE's Branch Office.
My firm is constantly getting asked about what it takes to set up a branch office in another city in China. In other words, you already have your WFOE in place in, let's say, Shanghai, and you decide you want to open another office in Qingdao. Or it could be the reverse. What do you do and how easy is it to do it?
I thought of this today because a client wrote me on this and I figured I might as well put my response up here for everyone, so here goes:
Setting up a branch office is really pretty easy. You apply to the local office that handles business licenses and the like. The process for a WFOE seeking to open a branch office is pretty much the same as it is for a Chinese company seeking to open a branch office.
It usually takes only a month or so to complete but can go a bit faster if you want to pay for someone in the particular city to try to speed it up for you.
The exact details vary from city to city, but in general they are going to want to make sure that you have a proper physical office in both cities, that you have a local bank account, and that you are set up to pay local taxes.
That's it.
Comments
Thanks Dan you always make it simple and easy for us non-lawyers to understand. Appreciated!
Posted by: George Formby | October 12, 2009 6:48 AM
Dude. You sure it's that simple? Where's Steve? Seems too simple to me.
Posted by: Concerned | October 13, 2009 1:39 PM
It's really true that it's pretty easy for any company (including WFOE) to open an office in any city of China. No any particular requirements for WFOE to do so. However, it's more complicated to establish branches or subsidiaries in China.
Posted by: sam | October 15, 2009 1:37 AM