Many people get confused between different types of companies and tend to mix up. Also, it is very important to know what sort of company you want if you are starting one of your own. Yes, it is possible to start a company of your own, in fact, many other companies just made your task easier by making different steps easier and eliminate the need for your physical presence.
Get Started HK is also one of the professional sites, helping people register a company in Hong Kong and make it easier for them to get the task done. But if you want to start a company, you should go through all the types that are available in business so that you choose the correct kind for your company.
Public limited
Public limited companies must have a minimal range of individuals which is obligatory by the organizational law and rules. If it says 10, then the company must have at least 10 employees. It can have an unlimited quantity of members otherwise. But the minimum benchmark is to be observed. Public limited companies have no connection with their owners and operate separately.
Their stocks are traded publicly this means publishing the entire and actual monetary function of the enterprise is required according to the law so that buyers can decide the proper cost and worth of its inventory (shares). Shareholders of a public limited agency are likely to lose exactly the quantity they have paid for the shares they own. This attracts many people as they know they will not lose anything but will only gain profit and even if things go sideways, they can take their invested money.
Private limited
A private limited company can also be referred to as people if they do not have a formal setup or many employees because the minimum limit of employees is two people and the maximum is defined by the law of that specific country. But the law usually contains lesser limitations for private companies as compared to public limited companies. Though you can change the status of your company from private to public by opening the choice for the public to buy shares.
Single-member
If a single person is the owner of all the stocks of the company, i.e, he has the whole capital under his name, then the company is called the one-man company. Though some countries impose a few laws over which a minimum number of people must be shareholders in the company, for which in one-person companies, some other people buy single shares just to represent more than one name in the documents.
Royal/ chartered
Such companies are not under a private person or a group of people. They are usually formulated by the power group in the country which can be the royal charter or government etc.
Business Corporation
This is a type of company that comes into existence for the sole purpose of performing business. It is usually registered for earning profits. Now such companies have a different set of standards according to the laws of every country. Some countries require a minimum number of people of this type. But others just leave it up to the owner. It can be only two individuals as well.
Subsidiary
This is not a company owned by a group of people but it can be considered as a company owned by another company. There are subcategories under this category depending upon how much control the owner company has over the subsidiary’s activities but mainly, its actions are not independent and are controlled by the higher company. Sometimes, both companies follow the same code of conduct and terms but are different.
Holding
A holding companys can be referred to as the opposite of a subsidiary. It is the company that owns another company. This holding company has authoritative people that control the functioning of the subsidiary.
Offshore
This is also a famous company type that many people go for as it refers to the company that you can establish in a foreign land where you do not live as a resident. Though this is a tricky process to have an investment in a place far apart from yours it is still very successful. Just like other countries, it is very easy to register a company in hong kong because many professional firms are doing the task which does not even require your physical presence for the registration.
Such companies do not run according to the laws of the country in which the owner is residing, but follow the regulations of the state in which the business building is located.
Limited liability
This means that the company’s owners will not be standing liable to any of the company’s matters such as liabilities or debts etc. many legal violations might lead to trouble for owners, but in other cases, the owners are not personally related to the company. This sort of company also usually does not pay any taxes but its profit and loss are dealt as mere tax returns.
Such companies are easy to set up as compared to other types because, in many countries, laws related to this kind of company are usually very flexible.
Limited by guarantee
In such types, a company has a group of people who are responsible for paying if the company has to wind up the business. There is a fixed amount decided upon by the authorities at the start and are only liable to play that guaranteed amount. In no case, the amount can be changed.
Unlimited
This is a dangerous kind of company when it comes to liabilities because these companies can eat up all the assets of the selected people if the company goes into debt because they have to fulfill the debt cost either by selling company assets or individual personal assets those people had.
Conclusion
There are many sorts of companies out there with different sets of laws for everyone. Chose your type wisely to avoid any problems.