Unlock Opportunities at Cross Border Summit: November 3 - 5, 2026

Login Signup Learn More
GFA 489 May 19, 2026 35:14

Running a Global Business From Asia's Best Hubs

Download Subscribe

Show Notes

Mike Michelini sits down with Ray—a CPA, big-four alumni, and co-founder of Hong Kong-based Unipro Asia—to decode the current landscape of running a global business from Asia’s best hubs. This episode dives into the shifting dynamics between Hong Kong and Singapore as e-commerce headquarters, the turbulent history of offshore banking, and how FinTech platforms like Airwallex have swooped in to save the day for cross-border founders. Ray brings an on-the-ground perspective to massive infrastructure projects like the Greater Bay Area, the current reality of Hong Kong's offshore tax exemptions, and how AI tools like Grok are actively reshaping financial compliance. The conversation also takes a philosophical turn, exploring the future of work and the potential 10-to-15-year societal restructuring driven by the agentic era.

Episode Timeline

  • [04:08] Hong Kong vs. Singapore: Ray discusses why Western founders have recently favored Singapore and Southeast Asia, while Hong Kong remains a significantly cheaper and increasingly stable option for company maintenance.

  • [06:40] The Evolution of Hong Kong Banking: Mike reminisces about the "good old days" of walking into HSBC in shorts for a same-day account, followed by the strict FATCA and CRS crackdowns that made banking nearly impossible for foreigners.

  • [11:18] FinTechs to the Rescue: How platforms like Airwallex and Mercury filled the banking void, offering crucial features like multi-currency sub-accounts, despite the occasional headache of changing issuing banks.

  • [17:40] Chinese Brands Going Global: Why mainland Chinese business owners facing a hyper-competitive domestic market still heavily prefer Hong Kong as their springboard for international expansion.

  • [18:49] The Greater Bay Area Initiative: A look at the massive project connecting 100+ million people across nine cities (including Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou) via high-speed rail and bridge infrastructure.

  • [22:00] Offshore Tax Exemptions: Ray clarifies that Hong Kong's 0% profit tax is still highly viable, provided your key profit-generating activities (office, employees, suppliers) are located completely offshore.

  • [23:16] Cloud Accounting & AI: A discussion on Hong Kong's long-awaited transition to paperless tax filing, the dominance of Xero and QuickBooks, and Ray's use of Grok AI to navigate compliance questions.

  • [29:00] The Future of Work: Mike and Ray discuss a potentially turbulent 10-to-15-year societal restructuring caused by AI, questioning if the traditional 8-hour, 5-day workweek will even survive.

Topics Covered in this Episode

Choosing Your Hub: Hong Kong vs. Singapore While Singapore has surged in popularity as an Asian headquarters for Western e-commerce founders, Ray points out that Hong Kong still wins on cost. As the regulatory and social climate stabilizes, Hong Kong's lower company maintenance and living costs are making it an attractive option once again.

From Traditional Banking to FinTech Agility Mike and Ray trace the wild history of offshore banking. After global regulations like FATCA and CRS made traditional banks like HSBC incredibly difficult to access, FinTech companies stepped in. Today, platforms like Airwallex allow founders to easily spin up sub-accounts for different projects without the friction of traditional corporate banking.

The Greater Bay Area Megalopolis Ray provides an update on the Greater Bay Area—a massive infrastructure initiative connecting nine major cities around the Pearl River Delta. With high-speed rails operating like subways and new bridge policies allowing dual-plate cars smoother access, the region is rapidly becoming a deeply integrated economic powerhouse of over 100 million people.

Maintaining the Offshore Tax Exemption Despite global regulatory shifts, the core logic of Hong Kong's offshore tax exemption remains intact. Ray explains that as long as a business's key profit-generating activities—such as physical offices, employees, local suppliers, and customers—remain outside of Hong Kong, founders can still legally achieve a zero-percent profit tax rate.

Accounting Automation and the Societal AI Shift As Hong Kong slowly moves toward paperless tax filing, cloud software like Xero and AI tools like Grok are becoming standard back-office requirements. The episode wraps with a deep philosophical discussion on automation versus compliance, and whether the rise of AI will ultimately force society to rethink the necessity of the traditional workweek entirely.

People / Companies / Resources Mentioned in this Episode

  • Mike Michelini – Host of Global From Anywhere

  • Ray – CPA and Co-Founder of Unipro Asia

  • Airwallex

  • Mercury

  • Xero & QuickBooks

  • Grok AI

  • Cross Border Summit – November 3–5 in Chiang Mai, Thailand

  • Global From Anywhere - globalfromanywhere.com

Download Options