Shanghai QiXiang Business Consulting Co., LTD.(QiXiang) has helped investors from more than 50 countries (regions) all over the world registered Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprises (WOFE), Joint Ventures (JV), Shanghai Representative Offices(RO), and provide one-stop services, including Trademark Registration, Bookkeeping, etc. QiXiang has a very mature foreign registration team, a set of very mature and efficient operation system, at the same time, we provide customers with high quality service, competitive price and one-stop solution.
 
Generally, Joint Ventures (JV) in China has three forms: Trading JV, Service JV and Production JV. Trading JV Registration is the most typical. Service JV is similar to Trading JV, while it will be a little bit simpler to register. Production JV registration will be more complex than Trading JV, with one more step, environmental assessment. But the Required Documents, Flow path and Duration for the three forms of JV Registration are very similar. Therefore, let’s just introduce the Trading JV registration for reference. As for other forms of JV please refer to other articles on this site.
 
1. The Registered Capital of Shanghai JV:
A lot of customers care about the problem of minimum registered capital. The government's official statement is: The registered capital should meet the scale of investment project. Although the minimum registered capital of CNY 30,000.00 in the company law also applies to Shanghai JVs, in practice, seldom do customers succeed registration with registered capital less than USD 80,000.00. According to our many years of practical experience and the latest policy, the "minimum registered capital" is the result of the communication game with the business committee, the investment of the project itself. We suggest that the registered capital should no less than USD 150,000.00 (CNY 1 million). But since March, 2014, there is no forcing the first round 20% registered capital contribution. The subscribed period can be the operating period of the company, like 20 years. The registered capital is not the lower the better, there is a proportion relationship with total investment. And there are more details concerning the registered capital. It’s very important for you to understand of the "registered capital problem". Because it matters your investment a lot. For details, please contact QiXiang Investment Advisers.
 
2. The Registered Address of Shanghai JV:
A Company must have registered address, otherwise it can't be registered. If you need to register a Shanghai JV, you will first find an office in Shanghai as a registered address. And this address should be business office building, it does not have to be an office for foreigners, while it is must not be residential housing building. No specific area requirements. Since the duration for Shanghai JV registration is generally about 2 months, so you can’t actually start your business in 2 months, and thus a certain amount of rental will be wasted.
Another alternative way is: we provide a virtual address in development zone for registration. This address is only for JV registration; you don’t have to work there, and you can rent an office wherever you like in Shanghai. Such address has two major benefits:
(1) Cost saving: Low charges, even free of charge, and it can save rental in the first 2 months when you can’t start your business;
(2) Long-term effective: No bother of later registered address change.
 
3. Required Documents for Shanghai JV Registration:
According to the Company Law of the People's Republic of China and QiXiang’s years of practical experience of Shanghai JV Registration, the Documents Required for Shanghai JV Registration are:
(1). 2 Copies of Notarized & Certified Certificate of Incorporation of Overseas investing company;
Certificate of Incorporation needs to be notarized by the local lawyer/notary public, and certified in local Chinese embassy (consulate).
If the investor is a natural person, please provide the original copy of the investor’s passport or provide 2 copies Notarized & Certified passport of the investor.
(2). 1 copy of the Bank credit/reference letter of the investor;
Bank credit/reference letter should be issued by the bank where the investor holds a bank account, don’t have to show specific balance but must show that credit is in good condition.
(3). Chinese investor’s Business License or ID card;
If Chinese investor is a natural person, such JV can only be registered in Pudong District or Free Trade Zone(FTZ);
(4). 1 copy of Chinese Investor’s Bank credit/reference letter;
(5). 3 copies of The Passport/ID card of Legal Representative of the WOFE to be registered
(6). 3 copies of The Passport/ID card of Supervisor of the WOFE to be registered;
(7). 10 alternative company Chinese names;
(8). 1 copy of Leasing Contract & Property Ownership Certificate of Registered Address;
(9). 1 copy of the accountant’s ID card of the WOFE to be registered;
(10). A set of documents to be signed;
(11). Other documents required.
 
4. Flow path and Duration for Shanghai JV Registration;
It takes one and a half months to get the business license, the Shanghai JV Registration will complete in 2 months. If you need to apply for import and export registration it will take 1 additional month; To apply for VAT also takes 1 additional month. But the above two events can be done simultaneously. The specific Flow path and Duration for Shanghai JV Registration are:
(1). Check name to see the company name if available, 7 workdays;
(2). Certificate of Approval, 15 workdays;
(3). Business License, 10 workdays;
(4). Engrave Official Stamp/Financial Stamp/Legal Representative’s Stamp, 1 workday;
(5). Open company bank account, 10 workdays;
(6). Apply for import and export registration, 25 working days;
(7). Check and ratify taxes, 5 workdays.
Note: In practice, the delay caused by the investor for not providing proper documents does not count in the Duration for Shanghai JV Registration.