in Hong Kong，What asset prices have risen faster than real estate in recent years? The answer may be the shell price of No. 9 Company。On the surface，Housing prices in Hong Kong have surged in recent years，It seems that investing in real estate has a good return。But compared to the price of No. 9 brand company，The increase in property market prices is only a small increase.。The so-called No. 9 company，Refers to asset management companies approved to operate by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong。
Since the Securities and Futures Commission classifies asset management business as a Type 9 regulated activity，Therefore, the asset management license is also commonly known as "No. 9 License"。Other common licenses in the market include No. 1 license (brokerage business)、4No. 6 license plate (investment advisory business) and No. 6 license plate (sponsor business) (see the end of the article for details of various regulated activities)。9Why are number plates becoming more and more popular?
Having said that，5years ago，Almost no one has thought about "Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect"、"Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect" will really be launched in the short term，The “Bond Connect” business will also be opened accordingly，Making Hong Kong’s brokerage and asset management business licenses “difficult to obtain”。Especially these two years，More and more mainland private equity firms are setting up offices in Hong Kong，9Number plates have become standard equipment for these companies。
Some not only set up No. 9 companies，Also applied for 1 at the same time、6number plate，Therefore, it can be claimed to the outside world that it is a "fully licensed" business - after all, it is in Hong Kong，It is much easier to obtain brokerage business than in the mainland。After mainland private equity funds set up overseas asset management companies，It can also be more convenient、Freely conduct overseas asset allocation and fund transfers。
Some mainland private equity funds expressed that，If there is no way to set up a suitable No. 9 company on your own，Funds may have to pay at least a channel fee of 0.2~0.3% to carry out overseas asset management activities.。As for the "regular forces" such as mainland fund companies and securities firms,，As early as the opening of an earlier round of QDII business，They set up asset management companies in Hong Kong on a large scale。
5years ago，The macro environment is that China’s economy is still improving，RMB appreciation trend is strong，Not many mainland companies and family asset management companies have seriously considered the necessity and urgency of global asset allocation.。However, since the significant depreciation trend of the RMB in 2014,，More and more mainland clients are beginning to consider the global layout of their assets。
Hong Kong is obviously the first stop for this global layout，Because there is free entry and exit of funds here，The language is basically the same as that of the mainland，The geographical distance is also relatively close。It is worth mentioning that，Those who set up asset management institutions in Hong Kong，Not just mainland high-net-worth individuals and family businesses，Some state-owned companies have also stepped up their presence in Hong Kong in the past two years.。By setting up an asset management company in Hong Kong，Conduct overseas investment and related asset restructuring business。
5years ago，There is no "asset shortage" in China yet，Whether it is raising funds in the Mainland，Or launch products in the mainland for investment?，There seems to be no need to worry about a way out。And now，More and more high-net-worth individuals are deploying their wealth overseas through various channels.，Establishing an asset management company overseas，It has become a new fashion to cooperate with these high-net-worth individuals in overseas investment.。
From a regulatory perspective，The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have tightened the issuance of licenses for various regulated activities in recent years.，It is also one of the external reasons why No.9 Brand Company is becoming more and more popular.。Especially after the financial tsunami，The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has tightened restrictions on banks (especially private banks) engaging in asset management business，The Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission has also tightened its review of asset management businesses and related financial products.。
With the implementation of the new U.S. financial regulatory bill ("Dodd-Frank Act")，In recent years, Hong Kong regulatory authorities have successively introduced more and stricter customer identification mechanisms and anti-money laundering regulations.，All these have resulted in financial institutions no longer being able to issue more professional financial products to customers as they did in the past.。However, since Company No. 9 is a professional investor,，So in terms of access to financial products，Not subject to the above regulations。
A head of the sales department of a Chinese securities firm revealed privately，If the asset management company does not hold the No. 9 license, it will no longer be listed as an "institutional client".。this means，Even if investors have sufficient assets，You may not be able to obtain the service treatment of institutional investors.，Including providing research reports or participating in private equity roadshows, etc.，It even includes low interest rate offers for institutional investors。
In banking services，9Number plate companies also engage in regulated business，and proactively accept the regulation of the Securities and Futures Commission，And it is easier to obtain bank account opening and other business (such as financing) facilities。How much is an asset management license worth? obviously，Asset management licenses are now priced and marketable。But how exactly is the value of such a license calculated?，May vary from person to person。
9The license plate company is usually a limited company registered in Hong Kong.，Therefore, when buying a No. 9 company, usually，At least the following factors need to be considered：1、Net assets of Hong Kong limited company；2、Hong Kong No. 9 business shell price；3、RO and employee salary of the original company；4、The channel value and business value brought by the establishment of the new company。
According to the regulations of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong，Each regulated license must have at least two licensed officers (ROs)，And one of them must be resident in Hong Kong。Therefore, when purchasing the No. 9 brand company,，The salary cost of the two ROs must also be considered；If the buyer has carefully selected RO candidates，And it complies with the regulations of the Securities Regulatory Commission
Require
，This cost will be greatly reduced。
Among the above factors，The first 3 items are the basis of the selling price proposed by the seller.，The fourth item may be the basis for buyers to consider the value of the company.，It mainly depends on the past qualifications of the shell company.、Customer resources、Existing product systems and system equipment, etc.。Among the above items，The most difficult thing to price is the second item “shell price”。
This is because if you reapply to establish a No. 9 company,，Requires a lot of money and effort，It also takes a lot of time，But each buyer’s psychological “pricing” of this upfront investment is completely different.，This will lead to a large price difference。According to Hong Kong experts，under the current situation，If the company already has other regulated businesses，Just add a number 9 card，You can obtain the No. 9 license plate within 3 to 6 months at the earliest.。
But if it is a brand new No. 9 plate application，Normally，Even if the documents are complete，RO qualifications meet the requirements，All registered capital is in place，It will take at least 6 to 9 months to obtain the No. 9 license。during these months，The company needs to pay Hong Kong office rent、Staff wages and maintenance related to Hong Kong limited companies
cost
。
On the surface, it seems that you can save a lot of money by applying for the No. 9 plate all by yourself.，But experts say，At present, the biggest risk in applying for No. 9 license by yourself is the probability of success.。Because as the China Securities Regulatory Commission tightens the issuance of relevant licenses，In recent years, the probability of not being issued a No. 9 business license has increased significantly.，Some companies have delayed their application for more than a year and still have not received a license.，Both time and money costs have increased significantly，It also affects the development of business。
An introduction from the CEO of a Hong Kong asset management company，Judging from the past process of assisting mainland colleagues to obtain licenses，The Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission has many unspoken regulations.，Some of them seem not to be explicitly listed in the regulations of the Securities Regulatory Commission.，However, various questions will be raised during the review process。in addition，In the past, many mainland organizations reported that，The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong will get to the bottom of some seemingly inconspicuous issues，confusing them。
Simply put，If you are not very familiar with the regulatory culture under this common law system,，You can always run into big trouble when applying。If you have rented an office、Fully staffed、An RO director was also hired，However, it took the company 9 months to 1 year to still not obtain the license.，In fact, the initial expenditure
cost
Not a lot。
Because of this，Many mainland customers have concerns about setting up a limited company in Hong Kong.、When you are completely unfamiliar with the license application process，Not willing to take excessive time risks (after all, the sooner you get the license, the sooner you can start business)，I'd rather spend some licenses
cost
。Even those who are not in a hurry to start business，Usually, we will consider hiring a professional agency to assist in setting up a No. 9 company.，Fewer people apply for the license by themselves。
As the price of No. 9 Shell Company continues to rise, third-party licensing agencies specialize in license application business.。The quoted price has increased from HK$200,000 5 years ago.，All the way up to the current nearly HK$1 million - this price depends on whether the company applying for the license already has a complete business structure、There are qualified RO candidates，and whether funds have been received。
Angela, who has been working as a compliance manager in Hong Kong for a long time, has recently been assisting many mainland customers in setting up No. 9 plate businesses.，From setting up a Hong Kong limited company、Start building the company’s organizational structure and business structure，Business scope and product lines of regulated activities to No. 9，She wants to help redesign the company。
Angela previously worked at the world’s largest asset management company，Later, he served as a compliance manager at a number of major foreign brokerage firms.，Therefore, he is very familiar with the relevant license application business and daily compliance processes.。she expressed，In recent years, more and more mainland customers have come to Hong Kong to apply for No. 9 license plate business.，Consulting services for licensing agency business within the industry
cost
It has risen to about 1 million Hong Kong dollars。
"Based on the quotes from peers，Establishment consultant for a single No. 1 company
cost
around 1 million。Preparation 2、4、5、9Number plate business companies need at least 1.5 million，And any license obtained by the China Securities Regulatory Commission is issued，You have to pay the full amount of 1.5 million。"she said。It should be pointed out that，These licensing agencies do not guarantee that customers’ No. 9 plate applications will be 100% passed.。in fact，A lot of first-hand information still needs to be prepared by the applicants themselves。
At best, proxy advisors are only providing advice.，Or can provide assistance in writing compliance documents。for example，How to prove to the China Securities Regulatory Commission that the RO hired by the company is a qualified person, etc.。In Angela's opinion，The qualities of the two ROs、A complete business plan and the amount of funds already in place are the core issues for a successful application.。
Take RO for example，Some companies think that the RO they hire has previously held an RO position.，will definitely be approved，but that's not the case。"Those who have experienced RO，may also be rejected；I have never experienced RO before.，may also be passed。"Angela said。There are also exams from the "Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute"，Under normal circumstances，Each RO must pass Paper 1 and Paper 6 exams。
But in practice，Not everyone who passes the above two exams can obtain an RO license from the China Securities Regulatory Commission，Not all applicants who fail to pass the test will be rejected。Angela had previously helped a director of a certain company successfully apply for an RO license.，However in fact，This RO took the exam many times and failed.。
She did not disclose how she persuaded CSRC officials to issue the license，But she pointed out，The whole application process is quite difficult，I had dozens of rounds of confrontations with the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s auditors.。“The key is how do you prove that these ROs are Qualified?，There must be very strong evidence and strict documentation.。"she said。
but，Angela’s success story may only be rare，It’s basically a case of “nothing will happen next time”。According to another license application consultant, Ms. Yang,，As the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission tightens the approval of No. 9 license plate，It has become increasingly difficult for some people with substandard hardware to obtain an RO license.。Whether it's an exam、Educational qualifications、Management experience、Industry experience or character?，Is there any shortcoming in any item?，This may cause your application to fail.。
How strict is it? According to Ms. Yang，The China Securities Regulatory Commission may have hundreds of questions for each company.，And many issues are related to each other，As long as there are one or two items that "the preface does not match the postscript"，will not pass the review。Even if you can pass all these problems，Approval takes several months，even a year。so，If those wealthy customers can’t wait,，The best thing is to simply buy a ready-made No. 9 company。
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