香港资产收购与股权收购怎么选?

  #资产收购    #股权收购    #业务转让条例第49章    #印花税    #雇佣条例第31J条    #尽职调查  

在香港收购一盘生意，买方可以收购目标公司的股份（share deal），也可以直接收购业务与资产（asset deal）。

一、路径之别：买公司还是买资产

股权收购中，目标公司作为法律主体不变，其全部历史负债、合同、牌照与雇员关系原样保留在公司内，买方取得的是「连同过去」的公司。资产收购中，买方逐项取得选定的资产与合同，并通过交易文件约定承接哪些负债，但同时要处理债权人保障程序、雇员重新聘用、牌照重新申请等一连串法定事项。

二、第49章第3条：受让人对转让人业务债务的法定承担

《业务转让（债权人保障）条例》第3(1)条规定，凡业务被转让，不论是否连同商誉，受让人即须对转让人经营该业务所产生的一切债务及义务负责，包括根据《税务条例》（第112章）征收或可征收的税款，并且「即使有任何相反协议亦然」。这意味着买卖协议中「买方不承接卖方任何负债」的约定只在买卖双方之间有效，不能对抗卖方的债权人与税务局。

三、转让通告的时间线与内容

如转让通告在转让日前不多于4个月且不少于1个月发出，并在转让日已「完成」，通告在根据第5条作出最后一次刊登后满1个月时完成。通告由转让人与受让人共同签署，并在宪报、两份认可中文报章及一份认可英文报章刊登。

四、责任上限、时效与豁免

即使通告程序未能完成，受让人的责任也有上限。受让人善意且无偏颇地清偿条例下的责任，支付的款项达到业务在转让日的价值后，不再承担进一步责任；业务价值推定为已付或议定的价格，除非证明相反。

五、印花税：0.1%双边成交单据与2026年2月26日起的从价印花税

资产收购的印花税取决于资产包中是否含有香港不动产。税务局常见问题载明，自2026年2月26日起，非住宅物业文书适用新设的第3标准（Scale 3）：代价或价值不超过400万港元的为100港元，逐级递增至21,739,121港元及以上的4.25%；2020年11月26日至2026年2月25日期间签立的非住宅物业文书则按第2标准计算。住宅物业继续适用第1标准第1部及第2标准：《2026年印花税（修订）条例草案》于2026年3月6日刊宪，立法会于2026年5月20日通过，《2026年印花税（修订）条例》于5月29日刊宪，将代价或价值超过1亿港元的住宅物业税率由4.25%提高至6.5%，追溯至2026年2月26日生效；税务局常见问题的现行税率表已按6.5%列示。对2026年2月26日至5月28日期间签立的相关文书，税务局去信有关律师，要求买方或卖方在6月29日前补缴新旧税率的差额，逾期可被处以最高为差额10倍的罚款。

六、雇员：香港没有TUPE，第31J条如何衔接

香港没有类似英国TUPE的雇佣自动转移制度。资产收购下，雇佣合约不随业务转移给买方：卖方须终止雇佣合约，买方与雇员另行订立合约。

七、商业登记与牌照：不随业务自动转移

商业登记方面，《商业登记条例》（第310章）下，独资、合伙等业务须在开业后1个月内申请商业登记；在香港注册成立的公司在申请注册成立时即视为同时申请商业登记，并须在开业后1个月内向税务局局长通知业务详情。资产收购的买方如以新主体经营，须自行完成上述登记；卖方则须在停业后1个月内书面通知商业登记署（表格IRC 3113），并缴清至停业年度为止的登记费及征费。股权收购下登记主体不变，仅需在业务名称、地址或性质变更时于1个月内通知。

八、香香港的股份转让程序

股权收购的交割在法律上围绕股东名册展开，印花税的缴付是股东名册更新与新股票发出的前置条件。公司注册处常见问题确认，股份转让发生时无须向处长交付任何指明表格，但须在转让后公司首次提交的周年申报表中申报。

九、香港的反垄断审查

业务实体不得直接或间接进行具有或相当可能具有大幅减弱香港竞争效果的合并；竞争事务委员会与通讯事务管理局于2015年7月27日根据附表7第17条联合发布的《合并守则指引》确认，目前合并守则只适用于至少一方为传送者牌照持有人的合并；在资产收购情形下，须收购方或被收购方持有传送者牌照（或直接或间接控制持有传送者牌照的实体），且被收购业务在收购前以传送者牌照经营。条例下没有合并申报义务，但委员会可主动调查并采取行动。

对绝大多数非电讯行业的资产或股权收购，香港目前不设事前合并审查，这与内地《反垄断法》下的经营者集中申报制度不同。买方仍须留意目标业务在内地或其他司法辖区可能触发的申报义务，以及交易前尽职调查中竞争敏感信息交换的边界。

十、税务：亏损不随资产走，折旧基础重新计算

利得税亏损方面，税务局说明某会计年度的亏损可结转以抵销该行业日后的利润；税务局在无须法院批准的公司合并指引中亦明确，税务亏损专属于公司，不能转移至其他集团公司；资产收购中卖方公司的结转亏损留在卖方，买方不能继承；股权收购中亏损留在目标公司，可继续结转。

资产收购中，买方按其支付的代价就取得的合资格资产计算免税额，交易对价在不同资产之间的分配直接影响双方的税务后果，应在交易文件中明确约定并与会计处理一致；股权收购则延续目标公司原有的税务成本基础，买方为股份支付的溢价不产生可扣除的折旧。

  ENGLISH SUMMARY  

Asset Deal or Share Deal in Hong Kong: Cap. 49 Notices, 0.2% Stock Duty and Section 31J Re-engagement Compared

A buyer of a Hong Kong business can acquire the shares of the target company or acquire the business and assets directly. The legal consequences diverge under five ordinances: the Transfer of Businesses (Protection of Creditors) Ordinance (Cap. 49), the Stamp Duty Ordinance (Cap. 117), the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57), the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) and the Competition Ordinance (Cap. 619). In a share deal the company and all its liabilities, contracts, licences and employees stay in place; in an asset deal the buyer picks assets but must run a series of statutory procedures.

Under section 3(1) of Cap. 49, whenever a business is transferred the transferee becomes liable for all debts and obligations arising from the transferor's carrying on of the business, including tax under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary. Section 2 excludes professions, sales of stock-in-trade in the ordinary course, charges and transfers of land alone. Section 7 preserves the transferor's own liability and section 6 gives the transferee a right of indemnity.

The transferee avoids this liability under section 4(1) if a notice of transfer is given not more than four months and not less than one month before the date of transfer and is complete at that date; under section 4(4) a notice is complete one month after its last publication. Section 5 requires both parties to sign the notice and publish it in the Gazette, two approved Chinese-language newspapers and one approved English-language newspaper. Section 8 caps the liability at the value of the business, presumed to be the price paid, and section 9 bars actions more than one year after the transfer. Section 10 exempts transfers by the Official Receiver, trustees in bankruptcy, liquidators other than in a voluntary liquidation, persons selling under a charge registered for at least one year, court orders and personal representatives; a receiver is covered only when it sells under such a charge or a court order.

On stamp duty, a transfer of Hong Kong stock attracts 0.1% of the consideration or value on each of the bought note and the sold note, 0.2% in total, plus a fixed $5 on the instrument of transfer; the 0.1% rate has applied since 17 November 2023 (0.13% between 1 August 2021 and 16 November 2023). An asset deal that includes Hong Kong immovable property attracts ad valorem duty. The Inland Revenue Department's FAQ sets out the rates effective 26 February 2026: non-residential property falls under the new Scale 3, from $100 up to $4,000,000 to 4.25% at $21,739,121 and above, while the residential scales rise to 6.5% above $109,574,470 under the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2026 (the Bill was passed by the Legislative Council on 20 May 2026 and the Ordinance gazetted on 29 May 2026, with effect retrospectively from 26 February 2026; for instruments executed between 26 February and 28 May 2026 the IRD has asked for the difference to be paid by 29 June 2026). Transfers of goodwill, plant, receivables and intellectual property are generally not chargeable instruments.

Hong Kong has no equivalent of TUPE. In an asset deal the seller terminates the employment contracts and the buyer re-engages the staff. Section 31J of the Employment Ordinance provides that where the new owner renews or re-engages an employee by agreement, the renewal is treated as made by the previous owner, so the change of ownership does not trigger severance, and the employee's service then runs on under the continuity rules in the First Schedule; an unreasonable refusal of the offer has the same effect. Severance under section 31B requires 24 months of continuous employment, and section 31G calculates it at two-thirds of the last month's wages per year of service, capped at $15,000 per year and, per the Labour Department's Concise Guide, $390,000 in total. The same guide confirms that a written offer made at least seven days before dismissal defeats a claim if unreasonably refused, and that MPF offsetting was abolished for terminations on or after 1 May 2025.

Business registration and licences do not follow the business. A new operator must apply for business registration within one month of commencement, and the seller must notify cessation within one month. Food business licences require a transfer application (form FEHB 169) and liquor licences a transfer application to the Liquor Licensing Board (form FEHB 106B), processed like a new issue with referral to the Police and the Home Affairs Department. In a share deal the licensee is unchanged, but licence conditions on change of control should be checked.

For share transfers, section 150 of the Companies Ordinance prohibits registration without a proper instrument of transfer, section 151 requires the company to register or refuse within two months, and section 155 requires a private company to issue share certificates within two months unless stamp duty has not been paid. The Companies Registry confirms that no form is filed on a transfer; it is reported in the next annual return. Pre-emption rights and directors' discretion in the articles must be cleared before signing.

The Merger Rule in Schedule 7 to the Competition Ordinance currently applies only where an undertaking directly or indirectly holding a carrier licence under the Telecommunications Ordinance is involved (in an asset acquisition, where the acquiring or acquired undertaking holds, or directly or indirectly controls the holder of, a carrier licence and the acquired business was conducted under that licence), as confirmed by the 2015 Guideline on the Merger Rule issued jointly by the Competition Commission and the Communications Authority; there is no notification requirement. On tax, the IRD states that losses are specific to a company and cannot be transferred to other group companies, with set-off after a court-free amalgamation under Division 3 of Part 13 of the Companies Ordinance allowed only where the IRD's financial-resources, post-entry and same-trade tests are met; losses therefore stay with the seller in an asset deal and with the target in a share deal subject to section 61B; a buyer of assets claims depreciation allowances on its own cost, with initial allowances of 60% on plant and machinery and 20% on industrial buildings.

Our recommendations: model stamp duty, the Cap. 49 exposure and accrued severance under both routes at letter-of-intent stage; for an asset deal, publish the notice of transfer between four months and one month before completion so that it is complete on the completion date; take indemnities and an escrow or deferred consideration covering the value-capped Cap. 49 liability and the one-year limitation period; issue written re-engagement offers on no less favourable terms at least seven days before completion and price in accrued service; build licence transfers and new business registration into the timetable with interim arrangements; and in a share deal clear pre-emption rights and board approval before signing, then pay stamp duty and update the register of members and the significant controllers register at completion.

  参考法规与来源  

REFERENCES

• 《业务转让（债权人保障）条例》（香港法例第49章，1980年6月27日起实施；电子版本日期2019年4月11日）

https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap49!en

• 《雇佣条例》（香港法例第57章，1968年制定；第31B、31C、31G、31J条及附表1）

https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap57!en

• 劳工处：Employment Ordinance, Chapter 57（载明该条例于1968年制定）

https://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/legislat/content2.htm

• 劳工处《雇佣条例简明指南》第十一章：遣散费及长期服务金

https://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/ConciseGuide/11.pdf

• 税务局常见问题：从价印花税（AVD）——2026年2月26日起生效的税率表

https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/faq/avd.htm

• 税务局新闻稿：Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2026 to be gazetted（2026年3月4日；条例草案2026年3月6日刊宪）

https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/ppr/archives/26030401.htm

• 税务局新闻稿：Government welcomes passage of Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2026（2026年5月20日立法会通过；条例2026年5月29日刊宪，追溯至2026年2月26日生效）

https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/ppr/archives/26052004.htm

• 税务局常见问题总览：Ad valorem stamp duty (AVD) Foreword（载明《2026年印花税（修订）条例》于2026年5月29日刊宪）

https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/faq/index.htm

• 税务局新闻稿：Government welcomes passage of Stamp Duty (Amendment) (Stock Transfers) Bill 2023（2023年11月15日；条例2023年11月16日刊宪，11月17日起实施）

https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/ppr/archives/23111501.htm

• 税务局：Rates of Stamp Duty – Transfer of Hong Kong Stock（1993年4月1日至2023年11月16日历史税率；2021年8月1日至2023年11月16日为0.13%）

https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/pdf/sd_stock_rates.pdf

• 香港政府一站通：Stamp Duty Rates（香港股票转让自2023年11月17日起的税率；第3标准自2026年2月26日起适用）

https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/taxes/stamp/stamp_duty_rates.htm

• 香港政府一站通：Documents & Persons Liable for Stamping（2025年8月最后检视）

https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/taxes/stamp/documents_for_stamping.htm

• 税务局：Profits Tax（亏损结转、第61B条与折旧免税额）

https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bus_pft.htm

• 税务局：Court-free Company Amalgamations（税务亏损专属于公司）

https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bus_cfa.htm

• 税务局：须登记的「业务」及商业登记申请（第310章，开业后1个月内申请）

https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bre_abr.htm

• 税务局《商业登记简介》（PAM 17：公司注册时视为同时申请商业登记；业务详情及其变更须于1个月内通知）

https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/pdf/pam17.pdf

• 税务局：取消商业登记（停业后1个月内通知，表格IRC 3113）

https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bre_cbr.htm

• 《公司条例》（香港法例第622章，2014年3月3日起实施）第4部（第150、151、155条），公司注册处刊载文本

https://www.cr.gov.hk/en/companies_ordinance/docs/part4-e.pdf

• 公司注册处常见问题：新《公司条例》一般事项（2014年3月3日起实施；《2013年公司条例（生效日期）公告》，2013年第163号法律公告）

https://www.cr.gov.hk/en/faq/companies-ordinance/general.htm

• 公司注册处常见问题：与股本／股份有关的文件（股份转让无须交付指明表格，于周年申报表申报）

https://www.cr.gov.hk/en/faq/local-company/doc-sharecapital.htm

• 竞争事务委员会、通讯事务管理局《合并守则指引》（Guideline on the Merger Rule，2015年7月27日）

https://www.compcomm.hk/en/legislation_guidance/guidance/merger_rule/files/Guideline_The_Merger_Rule_Eng.pdf

• 食物环境卫生署：Application for Transfer of Food Licence/Permit（表格FEHB 169）

https://www.fehd.gov.hk/english/forms/fehb169.html

• 酒牌局：Application Procedures（酒牌转让申请，表格FEHB 106B）

https://www.fehd.gov.hk/english/LLB_web/procedure.html

免责声明

本文为对公开法律法规及监管信息的一般性介绍，属法律资讯与知识分享，不构成法律意见，亦不构成招揽。文中所引法规、案例以官方公布文本为准；涉及具体事项，请就个案咨询专业人士。文中提及的调查中或审理中事项，不构成对相关事实的认定。