[By Frank Tao and Ronin Lim, Dezan Shira & Associates Shanghai office]
Once your established WFOE is up and running, you may be in the position to open a branch office. To do this, several steps need to be completed. The WFOE first has to complete 100 percent injection of the registered capital already committed. Once that is done, the company can begin the process of establishing a branch office.
The procedure
The WFOE must first apply in the city where they are established to the local MOFCOM office for authorization and approval to set a branch office in another location. Once this has been done, the WFOE then must apply to the local MOFCOM in the city where they want to establish their branch office for an Approval Certificate and Business License. Once this has been done, the branch office can handle the post-establishment registrations (making chops, enterprise code registration, tax registration, statistics registration, opening bank accounts).
During the application process, the following documents are normally requested:
- Board Resolution of the WFOE
- Appointment Letter for the branch office manager or person in-charge
- Resume and photo of the branch office manager or person in-charge
- Lease agreement of the branch office
- Latest capital verification report
- Latest audit report
- Copy of various legal certificates of the WFOE containing the WFOE chop
