Can anyone enlighten me about how to register a company in Kunming or any other places in China as a foreigner ??Is there any permanent residency offered by Government of Republic of China under investment category???

-"Can anyone enlighten me about how to register a company in Kunming or any other places in China as a foreigner ??"

Try contacting this company. They are currently advertising on the site: www.gokunming.com/[...]

-"Is there any permanent residency offered by Government of Republic of China under investment category???"

You'll have more luck asking this question on a Taiwan forum: www.forumosa.com

Have you got >US$500,000 to invest? Then you might qualify for the permanent resident permit after 3 years!

www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/refusal.htm

Otherwise if you start a WFOE (Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise) you'll just get a standard work permit and resident permit. For the WFOE you'll need lawyers fees (20k RMB?) and a minimum investment amount. Don't know what the figure is for Kunming but in GZ it's at least 200,000 RMB, depending on type of company.

The minimum investment requirement for companies has been cancelled, though there are certain requirements for permanent residence eligibility. There may also be other requirements depending on the type of industry you want to get into.

There are several companies in town providing company registration services. The process can take several months, involving a whole bunch of different government departments. In general, it's worth it to pay someone with experience to do it for you.

As the owner of a foreign-invested company, you will be entitled to a temporary residence permit. These are usually valid for one year, sometimes two. The residence permit is renewed right here in Kunming (or wherever you decide to register the company).

Before beginning, you want to have a good idea of the business you want to do here. Chinese business licenses are very specific about the range of business you are allowed to engage in. Also, there are certain industry sectors that are still closed to foreign investment, or require special licenses.

I was going to regester a company in china and eventually realized it was not a good idea. especially a wholy owned forighn company. the touts that provide this service are ridiculous expensive. a foreign owned company in china will be subject to compliance costs that locals will "avoid" you will never be on a level playing field. My company is reg. in Australia and my (kunming)wife controls all the chinese side with Chinese company.

@darcy: There are certain costs involved, and foreign companies certainly are subject to a bit more scrutiny than local ones.

On the other hand, it does sometimes make sense to set up a WFOE here. Spousal visas do not give you the right to legally work or do business in China. Also, putting a business in a Chinese person's name, even a spouse's, means you have no legal claim to that business.

Chinese companies also have difficulty getting money out of China to pay for goods and services.

As for the cost of setting up, the going rate for a consultant to do it, about 20,000 CNY, is a little on the steep side. Another approach is to hire an assistant to do it for you, and pay them a regular salary.

If you don't know exactly what you need to prepare beforehand, the process can take several months, so that route doesn't necessarily save much money.