(Latest news: BizMagnet MPF Referral service benefits both employers and employees)
I went to a major MPF trustee in Hong Kong to explain the relation between government fund and MPF. Maybe you wonder why MPF relates to the government fund. This is the reason:
Except start-up fund, all government business subsidy application requires the applicants to have substantive business operation. (i.e. a holding company or a shell company is not eligible to grant). How can a firm show that it has a substantive business? According to the BUD application guideline, substantive business should consist of 3 elements: legal status, finance and staffing. To prove staffing, the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) record is the best document.
MPF: Need, Accurate and Sufficient
Some inquirers don’t have MPF record, therefore they are not eligible to any government funds. All companies have staff, no matter limited company or individual proprietorship. According to Hong Kong law, all employees should have MPF.
Some inquirers don’t provide MPF to all staff, and the government will have inaccurate estimation about the applicant company size. For instance, an enterprise plans to upgrade the software system by purchasing 25 licenses. However, if it has only 10 MPF accounts, it is unreasonable to purchase more than 10 licenses.
Lastly, some partnerships may provide insufficient MPF payment. This is again an impact on company size estimation.
All the BUD Fund, Technology Voucher Programme(TVP) or Distance Business Programme(D-Biz) require the applicant to present the MPF record as an evidence of substantive business operation.