Published by ChinaMNC · Ziyang

Ziyang Company Registration: Documents, Steps and Practical Timeline

A practical guide for foreign founders setting up a wholly foreign-owned company in Ziyang, Sichuan: required documents, the registration sequence, business scope wording, registered address options, and where delays usually come from.

Ziyang is a prefecture-level city in central Sichuan, sitting between Chengdu and Chongqing on the province's main transport corridor. For a foreign founder, it is a smaller market than Chengdu, and that shapes the registration experience: fewer foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) pass through local counters each month, so officers may be less familiar with your paperwork, and you should expect to explain your file rather than assume it is routine.

This article covers the documents, sequence, business scope and address requirements for a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) in Ziyang, plus the delays that most often appear in practice. It is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm details with a local licensed agent or lawyer before you commit funds.

First, confirm the approving authority and your entity type

Most foreign founders choose a limited liability company (有限责任公司) with a single foreign shareholder. Before drafting anything, confirm two things with your agent:

Whether your industry sits on the national negative list for foreign investment. If it does, an approval or special conditions apply; if it does not, the WFOE follows the same registration rules as a domestic company.
Which market supervision bureau (市场监督管理局) has jurisdiction over your chosen address. In Ziyang this may be the municipal bureau or the district/county bureau for Yanjiang, Lezhi or Anyue, depending on where the premises are located.

Getting this wrong means re-filing later, so resolve it first.

Documents you will need

Prepare clean, consistent files. Names, addresses and shareholding must match across every document, including translations.

Investor and corporate documents

Foreign shareholder's certificate of incorporation (or passport, for an individual investor), notarised and legalised, or apostilled where the Hague Apostille Convention applies.
Certified translation into Chinese of every foreign-language document.
Bank reference letter or proof of the shareholder's standing, sometimes requested during the foreign exchange registration step.
Legal representative's passport copy and a recent photograph; the legal representative can be foreign or Chinese, but must be reachable for signature and, in practice, for identity verification.
Directors, supervisor and manager appointments, with passport or ID copies.

Company-level documents

Articles of association (公司章程) in Chinese, aligned with the standard template but reflecting your governance and capital contribution schedule.
Name pre-approval result for your Chinese company name, including the city and industry descriptor.
Registered address proof: lease agreement plus the landlord's property certificate, or a filed address-hosting arrangement.
Business scope wording drawn from the standard catalogue (see below).
Capital contribution plan stating amount, currency and timing, consistent with the articles.

Notarisation and legalisation are usually the slowest item. Start them before you look for office space.

The registration sequence

In Ziyang, as elsewhere in Sichuan, the steps run in a fixed order. Expect a partly online, partly in-person process.

Step 1: Name pre-approval

File your proposed Chinese name through the provincial or municipal online enterprise registration system. Have two or three alternatives ready; names that duplicate existing registrations or use restricted words are rejected.

Step 2: Prepare and submit the establishment file

Submit the articles, investor documents, address proof, appointment documents and application form. Many Sichuan systems now accept a single online submission with electronic signatures, but foreign shareholders often still need a wet-ink signature page, legalised and translated.

Step 3: Business licence

Once approved, the market supervision bureau issues the business licence (营业执照). Check every field — company name, address, scope, legal representative, capital — before you leave the counter; corrections later cost time.

Step 4: Seals and bank account

Have the company seals carved at an approved shop, then open the basic deposit account. Banks differ in how much they ask about the foreign shareholder and source of funds, so shortlist two or three banks before you apply.

Step 5: Tax, foreign exchange and social insurance registration

Complete tax registration and the foreign exchange (SAFE) registration, which is needed to bring capital in and later repatriate profits. Register for social insurance if you will hire staff.

Step 6: Capital contribution

Bring in the subscribed capital within the period stated in your articles, and have the bank record the purpose correctly so the funds can be verified.

Business scope: write it narrowly but usefully

The business scope (经营范围) is drawn from a standard catalogue. Choose entries that match what you will actually do in the first year, plus one or two adjacent activities you may plausibly add. Overly broad wording invites questions and can trigger licensing requirements; overly narrow wording forces a change registration later. If your activity requires a licence — food, logistics, education, certain consulting — the licence comes after the business licence, so sequence it into your plan.

Registered address

The address must be a real, documented premises. Options include a leased office with the landlord's property certificate, or an approved address-hosting service used by many small FIEs. Avoid vague or residential addresses unless the local bureau confirms they are acceptable for your industry. Inspections or address verification can occur, and a mismatch between the lease, the certificate and the licence is a common cause of rejection.

What actually causes delays

Legalisation and translation: apostille or consular legalisation plus certified translation can take weeks; inconsistent names across documents cause rework.
Unfamiliar files: fewer FIE filings reach local counters than in Chengdu, so officers may ask for explanations or additional confirmations.
Address documentation: missing property certificates or a lease that does not match the registered use.
Name rejections: restricted words or duplicates.
Bank onboarding: source-of-funds questions and compliance review can add days or weeks after the licence is issued.
Signature logistics: the legal representative must sign and, in practice, verify identity; plan for this early.

A realistic timeline

Assuming documents are in order, a WFOE in Ziyang typically takes roughly four to eight weeks from name filing to an operating bank account, with legalisation and bank compliance as the main variables. Complex industries or addresses can take longer. Build a buffer, and do not sign leases or commit to staff start dates until the business licence is in hand.

This article is general information for planning purposes and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Requirements change; verify current rules with Ziyang authorities or a licensed local adviser.