Hong Kong: Income from shareholder loans treated as interest rather than return on equity investment (Court of First Instance decision)
Fact that payment of accrued interest could be deferred or was dependent on contingencies did not change the nature of the income as interest.
The Court of First Instance (CFI) on July 29, 2026, held in Sinolink Shanghai Investments Limited v. Commissioner of Inland Revenue that income derived by the taxpayer from a shareholder loan provided in connection with a property development project was interest, rather than return on equity investment.
The court found that based on the expressed contractual terms of the investment agreement, the shareholder loan was a loan, and its features bore all indicia that the income derived from the loan was interest (e.g., a fixed return and the priority in payment of the accrued interest). The fact that the payment of the accrued interest could be deferred or was dependent on contingencies did not change the nature of the income as interest.
The court further held that the interest had accrued to the taxpayer despite being payable in the future, and that it was sourced in Hong Kong.
Read an August 2026 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in Hong Kong