With effective from 1 March 2018, a new licensing regime for trust or company service providers has come into operation.

Any person who carries on or wishes to carry on a trust or company service business in Hong Kong is required to apply for a licence from the Registrar of Companies.

In addition, the new requirement for companies to ascertain and maintain up-to-date information on beneficial ownership by way of keeping a Significant Controllers Register was implemented on the same day.