BUSINESS ｜商业

24 ningbo focus August 2012 www.ningbofocus.com

In most western countries, one will end up with Articles of Association, covering 1-2 pages, saying ‘The company can do

everything but…‘. The ‘but’ is then, in most cases, limited to some very few ‘Prohibited’ or ‘Restricted’ areas of business requiring a public license (Example: banks, insurance companies, securities firms, law firms and other). A company in e.g. Europe can hence virtually do ‘everything’ once having obtained its business license. Herein, including but not limited to (1) manufacturing, (2) trading and (3) providing services. Add the fact that most European countries have got a national company registrar, with online links to all relevant public bureaus (‘time saver’), often allowing the company to be registered with a few clicks online (‘cost saver’), and you have got a picture of the ‘ease’ with which a company can be incorporated abroad.

China is, in many ways, the ‘opposite’ of Europe in incorporation terms. The Articles of Association shall be much more detailed, and do rather tend follow the principle ‘The company can only do…‘. The terms ‘Prohibited’ and ‘Restricted’ do also apply in China together with the terms ‘Approved’ and ‘Encouraged’ (ref. ‘Catalogue of Industries for Guiding Foreign Investment’). Where one in Europe often operates with one multi-purpose investment vehicle that covers it all – China operates with individual investment vehicles for (1) manufacturing, (2) trading, (3) services, (4) real estate and so forth. The lack of a national or municipal central register, with online links to all involved public bureaus, means that separate filings will have to be done with SAIC, SAFE, COFTEC, State Tax Bureau, Local Tax Bureau and others within the specific district of Ningbo in which you would like to set up (Haishu, Jiangdong, Yinzhou, Jiangbei, Zhenhai or Beilun). You will need to re-register if moving from one district to another. In short, registering a new company in China is more demanding,

WFOE OR FICE ?FOR FOREIGN-INVESTED ENTERPRISES (FIEs) IN NINGBOAn Executive Comparison of the Two Investment Vehicles

Helge Hareland

takes longer time and is substantially more expensive than in e.g. Europe.

The two most popular investment vehicles among foreign investors in China are WFOE and FICE (WFOE = Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise and FICE = Foreign Invested Commercial Enterprise). I will herein provide an executive summary of the most important differences between the two investment vehicles.

ScopeA WFOE is the most common investment vehicle among foreign invested manufacturing companies. A WFOE can also trade, but only within the limits of the manufacturing scope. Furthermore, it cannot operate with more than 40-50% trading based sales income per annum. Meaning, 50-60 of the WFOE’s sales shall be based on manufacturing. A WFOE cannot, unless stated in its Articles of Association, provide services. Furthermore, with a scope opening up for services to be provided, the service scope will still be limited by the manufacturing scope.

A FICE is the most common investment vehicle among foreign invested trading and service companies. Herein (1) Trading companies sourcing in China for export and (2) Trading companies importing for sale in China. It can be equipped with a very wide trading scope. A FICE can also be given a wide service scope, and is therefore the most common investment vehicle among foreign invested service companies. A FICE cannot perform any manufacturing or assembly

By ( 作者 ): Helge Hareland

外商独资企业还是外商投资企业？两种投资媒介的经营对比

(the regulations from the past, allowing light assembly to be performed by a FICE have been removed). Furthermore, a FICE shall – when exporting – provide the customs bureau with the underlying purchase invoices of the products that are to be exported, showing the actual cost, and also showing the 100% exact same volume as the one you are exporting (the volume-match requirement represents a tricky nut for those whom intend to operate a warehouse under a FICE).

VAT LicenseA WFOE will not obtain its VAT registration automatically. It must fi rst demonstrate that it has established the means required in order to generate income based on manufacturing. The tax bureau will normally perform an on-site audit before the VAT license is being granted. No VAT refunds will be granted on a WFOE’s trading based sales, in the period from obtaining the business license and until obtaining the VAT license (this period can take anything from days to weeks and months, depending on how fast the WFOE manages to come in position to generate the first sale based on manufacturing).

A FICE will normally get its VAT registration automatically soon after having obtained the business license. The statutory on-site audits of a WOFE were removed a couple of years ago for the FICE.

Minimum Sales IncomeA WFOE should, until the financial crisis hit on a global scale, document a manufacturing based sales income of at least RMB 1 million

Trading贸易业

A

B

AB

Manufacturing制造业

A

B

C

BUSINESS ｜商业

August 2012 ningbo focus 25www.ningbofocus.com

The Author Helge Hareland is the Founding Partner at Hareland Capital Ltd. (www.hareland.com) and Chairman at Point Services (Ningbo) Co. Ltd. (www.point-services.net). Helge has been living and working in Ningbo since July 2000. In addition to be an investor and company owner, he is also a specialist in corporate structuring and fi nancing. Helge is an advisor to foreign investors planning to invest in China and Chinese investors seeking investment opportunities abroad. He can be reached at info@hareland.com and advisory@point-services.net.

作者Helge Hareland是Hareland资本有限公司（www.hareland.com）的创建人，同时也是 Point服务（宁波）有限公司（www.point-services.net）的董事长。Helge 从 2000 年 7 月开始便在宁波居住工作。他除了投资、自营企业之外，还是一个企业组织和理财方面的专家。Helge 为想在宁波投资的外商以及想去国外寻求投资机遇的中国人做顾问。您可以通过以下网址联系到他：info@hareland.com 和 advisory@point-services.net。

the first 12 months, counting from the VAT registration date. The amount has since then been lowered to RMB 500,000. Failure to reach the minimum sales will result in loss of the VAT license. Trading or service based sale will not ‘count’ in this setting.

A FICE should, until the fi nancial crisis hit on a global scale, document a trading based sales income of at least RMB 1.8 million the fi rst 12 months, counting from the VAT registration date. The amount has since then been lowered to RMB 800,000. Failure to reach the minimum sales will result in loss of the VAT license. Service based sale will not ‘count’ in this setting.

Export VAT RefundParts of the underlying Purchase VAT will not be refunded in connection with export sales i.e. the Non Refundable VAT or NRVAT. The last is a function of the products export declaration codes or HS Codes.

The NRVAT of a WOFE is based on its Export Sales Price. The NRVAT of a FICE is based on the underlying Product Purchase Cost. The WOFE will hence get a lower VAT refund than a FICE if the same products are being exported at the same price.

Closing RemarksMore and more foreign invested enterprises tend to register more than one company in China. Many operate with both a WOFE and a FICE. The optimal solution will, for many come in the form of a ‘Hybrid’ that combines the best from two-three different investment vehicles into one powerful solution. Do, therefore, always make sure that you consult a professional third party in good time before initiating a company registration process. ■

Photo by: Helge Hareland

在大多数西方国家中，商人们会用 1 至 2页篇幅的条款收场，上面写着“公司能做任何事，除了……”但往往就是这个“除了”受限于一些需要营业许可的商业领域中，比如银行、保险公司、证券公司、法律公司等。打个比方，一家欧洲的公司只要获得商业许可证，便可以在实质上做到“任何事”。因此，包括但不仅限于（1）制造、（2）贸易、（3）提供服务。此外，多数欧洲国家都有一个国家级的企业注册员，他们通过网络与所有的公共办事处连接（“节省时间”），这样一来，企业只需通过点击鼠标便可完成注册登记（“节约成本”），同时可轻松获知与哪家国外企业合资。

在组建公司方面，中国在很多方式上都站在欧洲的“对立面”。条款必须更加具体，最好能够遵循以下准则：“公司只能做……”。中国既然有“禁止”和“限制”条款，当然也会有“批准”和“鼓励”的条款（比如“指导外商投资的行业目录”） 。欧洲企业往往通

过多目的投资媒介进行操作，而中国在制造业、贸易业、服务业和房地产业等领域均通过单一投资媒介进行。缺少可以通过网络连接所有公共办事处的国家级或市级注册中心意味着企业需要与国家工商管理总局、国家外汇管理局、国家税务局、当地税务局以及企业所在地的不同部门申请办理手续。如果企业跨区变更地址，那么还需要重新注册登记。简而言之，与欧洲等地相比，在中国注册一家新企业要求更多、耗时更长、成本更高。

在中国投资者中最畅销两种投资媒介是WFOE 和 FICE，即外商独资企业和外商投资企业。在此，我会对这两种投资媒介之间存在的最重要的区别做一份执行概要。

经营范围外商独资企业是众多外商投资制造企业中

最常见的投资媒介。它同时也可以做贸易，但只允许在制造业范围之内。此外，其贸易方面的年收入不可超过总销售收入的 40-50%。换而言之，外商投资企业中 50-60% 的销售额必须从制造方面产生。除条款中明确的之外，外商独资企业不可以提供服务。另外，即使提供了服务经营，其经营范围也必须限制在制造业的范围之内。

外商投资企业是众多外商投资贸易企业和服务企业中最常见的投资媒介，表现为中国贸易出口企业、中国贸易进口企业。其贸易经营范围可以十分广泛。外商投资企业也可以有广阔的服务业经营范围，由此成为了众多外商投资服务企业中最常见的投资媒介。但其不能涉及制造业或装配（之前的规定已废除）方面的业务。除此之外，在出口时，外商投资企业必须向海关提供出口产品的购买发票，并注明实际成本和实际出口数量（数量对应要求可防止在企业下设置仓库隐瞒真实数量的意图）。

增值税许可外商独资企业不会自动获得增值税登记

证。首先，企业必须证明它已经按照规定能达到基于制造业的收入。在正式授予增值税许可证之前，税务部门会去现场进行审计。从获取营业执照到增值税许可证的这段日间内（这段历时的跨度很大，可能是几天、几周，也有可能是几个月，主要取决于企业获得第一笔基于制造业的销售收入的进度），外商投资企业中源于贸易业收入的增值税将不会予以退还。

外商投资企业则会在取得营业执照之后不久便获得增值税登记证。对该类企业的法定现场审计已经在数年前取消了。

最低销售收入在全球发生金融危机之前，外商独资企业

应该证明其从增值税登记日期起的第一年中达到至少 100 万人民币的以制造业为基础的销售收入。从那时起金额已经降到了 50 万元。没有达到最低销售额将会导致失去增值税许可。以贸易业或者服务业为基础的销售也会因此失效。

在全球发生金融危机之前，外商投资企业应该证明其从增值税登记日期起的第一年中达到至少 180 万人民币的以贸易业为基础的销售收入。从那时起金额已经降到了 80 万元。没有达到最低销售额将会导致失去增值税许可。以服务业为基础的销售也会因此失效。

出口增值税返还部分潜在的进项增值税在出口销售中不予

退还。最后是产品出口申报编码或 HS 编码的功能。

外商独资企业的不予退还增值税在产品出口价格上产生。而外商投资企业中的不予退还增值税是从潜在的产品购买成本中产生。所以，如果这两种企业以相同价格出口相同产品，那么外商独资企业退还的增值税要少于外商投资企业。

结束语想在中国投资两家及两家以上企业的外国

投资商越来越多。他们往往选择经营一家外商独资企业和一家外商投资企业。普遍情况下的最佳解决方式是“混合”，即把 2 到 3 种不同的投资媒介结合得出一个有力的解决途径。因此，在开始注册公司之前，请确保您已向专业的第三方进行咨询。 ■

图片来源：Helge Hareland