The application process – FICE
The application process to create a FICE can be divided into three parts:
- pre-registration – what happens before the WFOE formally exists
- post-registration – what happens after the WFOE formally exists
- tax planning – important when structuring your business
It is important you hire a firm who can provide a complete one stop service, and one who can properly identify registered capital and tax structuring requirements. If not, a FICE business can go wrong almost immediately after the application process has been completed.
Applications are made at a provincial or municipal level (e.g. Guangdong province, Shanghai municipality, Beijing municipality, etc), albeit with input from local offices of state-level authorities. In addition, the five Special Economic Zones in South China have independent approval authority over this issue.
Pre-registration
Name registration
The relevant authority is the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC). This bureau administers the registration of all kinds of enterprises (including FIEs), organizations or individuals that are engaged in business activities; examines and ratifys the registration of business names; and reviews, approves and issues business licenses. Verification of feasibility of the proposed name by SAIC will take a few working days.
Only the Chinese name will be legally binding – the English name is not legally relevant for Chinese authorities. The word “China” cannot be freely included in the Chinese name. The name can be translated by meaning and/or phonetically.
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