Hong Kong has a simple rule for financial businesses: no licence, no business. Getting a licence from scratch is possible, but it is slow, and neither the Securities and Futures Commission nor the Companies Registry is in the habit of hurrying for anybody. That is why ready-made licensed companies change hands in Hong Kong, and why the clean ones don’t stay on the market for long.
FintechLex currently has three of them on its desk: two asset managers licensed by the SFC, and one trust company. Here is what each one is, and what nobody tells you before you sign.
1. SFC Type 4 + Type 9: advising on securities and asset management
A Hong Kong company licensed by the SFC since 2017 for Type 4 (advising on securities) and Type 9 (asset management), which gives it close to nine years of continuous licence history and no public disciplinary record. It is sold as a clean shell: 100% of the shares, no clients, no assets under management and no legacy liabilities beyond routine running costs. It is owned directly by two individuals, with no holding company in between, and its audited 2025 accounts are available for due diligence.
Two things to know. The licence is restricted to Professional Investors and the company may not hold client assets, so this is a platform for advising professional clients and managing their money, not a retail fund shop. And it comes with accounts at a major Hong Kong bank and a major Singapore bank. In Hong Kong, where opening a corporate account can take months, that is worth a great deal, provided the banks are comfortable with the new owner, so talk to them early.
2. SFC Type 9: a young asset manager, ready now
A Hong Kong company licensed by the SFC for Type 9 (asset management), incorporated in 2026. Two Responsible Officers currently keep the licence alive. Here again you buy a clean shell: 100% of the shares, no clients, no assets under management and no rent to pay. The licence is restricted to Professional Investors and the company may not hold client assets.
The question to ask here is simple: will the two Responsible Officers stay after the sale, and on what terms? Without Responsible Officers, a Type 9 licence is a very expensive piece of paper.
3. Trust company for sale with a TCSP licence
100% of a Hong Kong holding company that carries a Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSP) licence, valid until 2028 and renewable every three years, together with a registration as a trust company under the Trustee Ordinance (Cap. 29). The company is based in Kowloon and was incorporated in 2025. It has five staff, two directors, operating facilities in place, a fixed deposit already lodged, and no litigation or liabilities on record.
For a buyer who wants to offer trustee and corporate services in Hong Kong, it means skipping the licensing queue and opening for business with people already at their desks.
A licence is not a business
Before you buy any of these companies, four questions matter more than the licence itself. What exactly does the licence allow, and what does it forbid? Who keeps it alive, and will they stay? Where will you bank? And what will you actually do on day one? A regulator who approves a new owner expects to see a plan, not a shell waiting for a miracle.
Every change of control here goes through the regulator. For the two asset managers, the SFC must approve the new substantial shareholders and, where needed, the Responsible Officers. For the trust company, the new owners and directors must pass the Companies Registry’s fit-and-proper test. Plan for it, and don’t agree on a price before you know you will pass.
Looking for something else in Hong Kong? We also have a money lender and MSO platform and a life insurance broker for sale, and we handle the acquisition of regulated Hong Kong companies from the first check to the change of control.
How to get the teasers
These teasers are issued on a no-name basis. Full corporate, licensing and financial information is released after a non-disclosure agreement and buyer KYC. Prices are on request.
Tell us which company interests you and what you plan to do with it: write to insight@fintechlex.com or on WhatsApp +41 787 983 770, and we will send you the teaser.
Rene-Philippe
