OpenCorporates Hong Kong alternative

Hong Kong's 公司註冊處 (Companies Registry) opened a free Open Data API at data.cr.gov.hk that covers Live Local Companies plus Registered Non-HK Companies. Those are the two registers most KYB workflows actually need. The richer ICRIS3EP portal (officers, shareholders, SCR, charges, filings, image records) is paid behind the e-services portal. OpenRegistry surfaces both. The free Open Data API is wired live, and the paid ICRIS3EP routes return a structured 501 with the fee schedule.

OpenRegistry on Hong Kong

• search_companies(HK, ...): BRN equal lookup, or company-name begins-with search across both registers.
• get_company_profile(HK, ...): full record from the Open Data API. Name (Chinese and English), CR number, BRN, status (registered or dissolved), date of incorporation, type of company, country of incorporation for non-HK companies.
• Officers, shareholders, SCR, charges, filings, image records: structured 501 with alternative_url plus the ICRIS3EP fee pointer (HK$22 per company particular search, HK$45 per directors search, HK$45 per filing image).

What OpenCorporates has for Hong Kong

OpenCorporates includes ICRIS CSC Companies Registry in its index. The basic identifier, name, and status data are there. Live freshness depends on OC's crawl cycle. The data.cr.gov.hk Open Data API exists precisely so a live integration does not have to wait for it.

Where this matters

• BRN-based lookup. Hong Kong KYB workflows lean on the Business Registration Number issued by the Inland Revenue Department, which is the equality key in get_company_profile.
• Live status. A company that filed for deregistration this morning should not still read "registered" because the crawler last ran on Tuesday.
• Honest 501s. The HK paid surface (officers, shareholders, SCR, charges, filings) sits behind the ICRIS3EP cart. No aggregator can unilaterally surface it for free. We say so on the response, with the fee pointer.

Worked example

// MCP — HSBC Holdings on the HK Open Data API
search_companies({ jurisdiction: "HK", query: "HSBC Holdings" })
// → CR number, BRN, status, date of incorporation

get_company_profile({ jurisdiction: "HK", company_id: "<CR number>" })