Asia Direct: Building a Direct Import Program via Hong Kong
- Aug 10
- 2 min read
In this Woodburn Academy webinar, Kristina Koehler-Coluccia sets out how a Direct Import Program run through Hong Kong works for importers who source in Asia and sell directly to large customers in their home market. The session runs for about 48 minutes.
About the speaker
Kristina Koehler-Coluccia is Head of Business Advisory at Woodburn Accountants & Advisors. She has spent more than two decades helping foreign companies set up and run their operations in China and Hong Kong, and she leads the firm's Woodburn Academy sessions.
What this session covers
Centralising your sourcing function in Asia and what that does for control over quality
Running the structure through a Hong Kong virtual office rather than a physical presence
Hong Kong's tax regime, including the 16.5% profits tax rate and the treatment of offshore profits
Selling on FOB Asia terms, and what that frees up in inventory and working capital
Cutting risk by avoiding the fixed overheads of a traditional office set-up
Why this matters if you import from Asia
Most importers arrive at this structure the long way round, after a few years of buying through agents or trading companies and watching margin disappear somewhere between the factory and the customer. An entity in Hong Kong that sits between your Asian suppliers and your home market gives you one place to consolidate purchasing, hold quality control and invoice from. The trade-off is that it is a real company with real obligations, so the annual filing and audit cycle has to be planned for rather than discovered.
If the model fits your business, the practical next steps are Hong Kong company registration, appointing a company secretary, and putting a dependable tax and audit cycle in place.
Watch the full session
Thinking about a Hong Kong company?
Woodburn Accountants & Advisors helps foreign companies register and run entities in Hong Kong and China, from incorporation and company secretarial work through to accounting, payroll, tax and audit. If this session has raised questions about your own position, get in touch with our team.
