[quote=“Traveller”][quote=“Mother Theresa”][quote=“Rumpelstiltskin”]Are you 100% sure that you can open a branch office of an overseas limited company with only $1M in foreign capital?
I would be interested to know.[/quote]
Actually, what I said is that the start-up capital required to form a:
Company Limited by Shares (equivalent to a corporation) is NT$1 million.
Limited Company (similar to the above except no shares are issued) is NT$500,000.
Both of those are independent corporate entities in Taiwan that shield the shareholders/investors from personal liability and tax consequences go to the entity not to the individuals. More information about them can be found in the Company Law (which is fairly thick to read through). Here’s a version of it, but I can’t guarantee this is current:
gti.com.tw/lawandregulations04.htm
It is my understanding that to form a subsidiary of a foreign company in Taiwan the capital requirement is either NT$1 million or NT$500,000 and the investors must apply with the MOEA for Foreign Investment Approval (FIA); and there is no capital requirement for a foreign company to form a branch or appoint an agent in Taiwan.
I’m not sure about sole proprietorships. I would think one must be Taiwanese, but I don’t know. I do know that you would be exposed to unlimited potential personal liability and you would be taxed as an individual instead of at a corporate rate.
You can definitely convert a Limited Company into a Company Limited by Shares (corporation), and you can probably convert a Sole Proprietorship into one also, but in such a case you would definitely need to remit the required minimum capital and apply for FIA.
If you have further questions, I suggest you ask the MOEA. Here’s a link to send them questions (but please post your Q&A here afterwards):
investintaiwan.nat.gov.tw/help.php[/quote]
Mt, while in principle you are right, in practice you may not be. Your figures are only valid for companies being setup that do not require additional licencing.
In our case, the minimum capital was 7,500,000 NT$, not defined by the Company setup people, but by the licencing authority for our relevant industry.[/quote]
I sort advice on opening a branch office in TW and there IS a capital requirement and you must demonstrate the $ comes from overseas and not from within Taiwan. Its a right pain in the azz.
