Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise (WOFE)

The Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise (WOFE) is a limited liability company wholly owned by the foreign investor(s). In China, WOFEs were originally conceived to encourage manufacturing activities that were either export orientated or introduced advanced technology. However, with China's entry into the WTO, these conditions were gradually abolished and the WOFE is increasingly being used for a variety of service providers such as those offering consulting and management services, software development and trading.

There are several different types of WOFE, and we can assist you in choosing the type that best suits the scope of your business.

The advantages of establishing a WOFE, compared with other types of enterprises, include, but are not limited to:

• Independence and freedom to implement the global strategies of the parent company;

• Ability to formally carry out;

• Capability to convert RMB profits to GBP, and to subsequently remit these profits to the parent company (outside China);

• Protection of intellectual knowledge and technology;;

• No requirement for an Import / Export licence for its own products;

• Full control over human resources;

• Greater efficiency in operations, management and future development, and;

• You do not have to have an established business overseas for more than 2 years

Once your WOFE is officially registered, its accounting records must be maintained in accordance with accounting standards in China. Taxes also need to be reported on a monthly (for business tax, individual income tax) and quarterly (corporate income tax) basis. Late submissions will face a penalty and surcharges.