Private company due diligence in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong registry shows a company's directors, shareholders on record and registered charges. It does not show the numbers. Those come from the company, and we test them against its bank and ledger data.
We read the Companies Registry, the charges index (registered security over company assets), the Official Receiver, the Land Registry and the Judiciary, then check the company's own figures against bank and ledger data it consents to share.
Where Kubr stands in Hong Kong
Stage: Scoping. Registry, insolvency and court sources are mapped and the company-supplied route is designed. Nothing is live for Hong Kong yet. Every route is a design, to be confirmed with local counsel.
Clients here: by enquiry only.
Pre-launch in Hong Kong. Not offered to the public.
Hong Kong diligence starts from the Companies Registry and ends at the company's bank and ledger data, because private company financials are not public.
Registers and records we read in Hong Kong
| Source | What it holds | How we get it |
|---|---|---|
| Companies Registry (e-Services Portal) | Company name, number, status, incorporation date, name history, filing index, directors and secretary, shareholders on record, disqualification orders | Read by Kubr |
| Companies Registry, charges index | Registered charges with registration number and brief description, and satisfaction status. Whether the deeds themselves can be pulled is to be confirmed with local counsel | Read by Kubr |
| Companies Registry, annual returns and filed documents | Annual returns, change notices, allotments and other filed forms as images. Private company financial statements are generally not filed | Read by Kubr |
| Significant controllers register (kept by the company) | Individuals and entities with significant control. Kept at the registered office and open only to specified authorities, not the public | Supplied by the company |
| Land Registry (IRIS online services) | Land registers with owners and registered encumbrances such as mortgages, plus land documents. Search by owner name to be confirmed with local counsel | Read by Kubr |
| Official Receiver's Office | Bankruptcy, individual voluntary arrangement and compulsory winding-up records. Creditors' voluntary liquidations are not covered by this search | Read by Kubr |
| Judiciary (cause books and Legal Reference System) | Published judgments, and cause book (court case list) entries. Filed documents are open to non-parties only in limited form, mainly originating processes | Read by Kubr |
| Inland Revenue Department, business registration | Business registration number lookup by name and location, and certified extracts of the Business Register. Profits tax returns are not public | Read by Kubr |
| SFC public register of licensed persons and registered institutions | Licences by regulated activity (for example Type 4, Type 9), status and conditions of licensed corporations and individuals | Read by Kubr |
| Sanctions lists (UN designations kept by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau) | Persons and entities designated under Hong Kong's UN sanctions regulations. Hong Kong has no autonomous sanctions list; other lists are screened as a client policy matter | Read by Kubr |
| HKEXnews and the Gazette | Listed-company announcements and financial reports; winding-up petitions and statutory notices | Read by Kubr |
| Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (eMPF) | Employer contribution records. Not public; the company or its payroll provider can supply extracts | Supplied by the company |
Rules that shape the work
- Company law and registry
- Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622). The Companies Registry e-Services Portal shows company status, name history, filing index, charges index and disqualification orders free of charge. A paid Company Particulars Report adds registered office, directors, secretary and shareholders. Usual residential addresses and full ID numbers are withheld as protected information.
- Data protection
- Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486), enforced by the PCPD, the privacy commissioner. Consent and purpose limits apply to directors' and owners' personal data. Section 33 (cross-border transfer limits) has been reported as not yet in force, with PCPD model clauses as guidance; to be confirmed with local counsel.
- Financial data
- Private company financial statements are not filed with the Companies Registry and there is no sales-tax return feed. Audited accounts, bank statements and ledgers come from the company. The HKMA (the central bank) Open API and the Commercial Data Interchange are bank-led; whether a diligence firm can use them is to be confirmed with local counsel.
- Securities regulator
- The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571). Advising on securities (Type 4), asset management (Type 9) and providing credit rating services (Type 10) are regulated activities. Kubr holds no licence and gives none of these services.
- Speed
- Registry, insolvency and land pulls run in minutes once a name is confirmed. Company-supplied statements set the clock for anything deeper. Timings are targets, not measured pilot results.
- Reliability
- Registry particulars are reliable for status, directors, shareholders on record and charges. Private company financials, beneficial ownership and trading activity are not on any public register, so those rest on documents the company supplies and on outside cross-checks.
How we check sales and cash here
Private company financial statements are generally not on the public record, the significant controllers register is closed to the public, and Hong Kong has no sales-tax feed. Nothing here is a single official source of truth for sales. We stack several independent views and show where they agree and where they do not.
Where your data is held
As a design commitment before launch, data on Hong Kong companies is sourced from Hong Kong-licensed providers and public registries and handled inside Hong Kong. Nothing about a Hong Kong company is sent to a server outside Hong Kong by design.
Sourced from: Government registries and courts, Hong Kong-licensed banks and payment institutions reached with the company's consent, licensed accounting-software providers with Hong Kong-hosted data where the company has chosen them, and Hong Kong-based sanctions and adverse-media screening providers.
Documents and records are stored and analysed on infrastructure in Hong Kong, with access limited to named staff. Nothing crosses borders by design. If a client asks for a Mainland or overseas copy, that is a separate written instruction, and Mainland rules would need to be confirmed with local counsel.
Reports available in Hong Kong
- Verified SnapshotFull
Company status, directors, shareholders on record, charges index, filing history, insolvency and land searches, and adverse media, all from public sources. Limits: No financial statements for private companies. Beneficial owners behind a corporate shareholder are not public. Residential addresses and full ID numbers are withheld. Typical turnaround: 2 to 5 working days from a complete data set. - Financial diligencePartial
Audited accounts, bank statements or consented bank data, ledger data and profits tax filings supplied by the company, cross-checked against each other. Limits: Depends on the company's supply. A company that will not share bank and ledger data leaves us with the audited accounts only, and the report says so. Typical turnaround: 2 to 5 working days from a complete data set. - Legal diligence supportPartial
Charges, land encumbrances, insolvency records, published judgments and cause books, licences on the SFC register, and the corporate structure from filings. Limits: No full party-name case search and no public significant controllers register. Contracts, litigation and title are for a Hong Kong solicitor to opine on. Typical turnaround: 2 to 5 working days from a complete data set.
Not yet available here: Promoter profiles (planned); IC note (planned); Portfolio monitor (planned); Model check (planned); Valuation context (planned); Rating history (not offered); Borrower monitor (planned); Proceeds tracer (planned). See all eleven reports or read the sample report.
Work that needs a licensed professional
- Advising on securities or asset management: SFC-licensed corporation (Type 4 or Type 9).
- Audit and financial statement opinions: HKICPA-registered certified public accountant firm.
- Legal opinions and title review: Hong Kong solicitor or barrister.
- Advising on corporate finance: SFC-licensed corporation (Type 6).
- Credit rating services: SFC-licensed provider (Type 10).
Kubr is not licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission and does not carry on any regulated activity under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. We do not advise on securities, manage assets or provide credit rating services. Our reports are factual findings from records and supplied documents, not opinions, ratings or recommendations. Whether any Kubr service needs a licence in Hong Kong is to be confirmed with local counsel before launch.
Personal data of directors, owners and employees is handled under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, including the data protection principles on purpose, accuracy, security and access. We collect company data only with the company's consent and use it for the diligence requested.
Read next
- Hong Kong Company Search: Companies Registry Guide
- Private Company Due Diligence: A Records-Based Guide
- Lender’s Checklist: Verifying a Borrower Company
- Kubr casebook: 483 sourced corporate-failure cases, with its methodology and summary counts
Request a quote for a Hong Kong company, or browse the services.
Other markets
Kubr is a technology platform, not an adviser, law firm, auditor, rating agency or credit bureau. Reports are for the named client only and are not investment advice, an audit or a legal opinion. Full disclosures. Source data for this page: the Kubr market pack for Hong Kong, reviewed 3 November 2026.