Founded in 2012, Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited (HKIRC) is Hong Kong’s government designated organization responsible for the management and administration of .hk and .香港 (.hk Chinese suffix) domain names.
Mandated to promote the use of the Internet in Hong Kong, HKIRC is a non-profit-distributing organization which offers quality, reliable and trustworthy domain name registration services to people at home and around the world
What’s your view on .hk/.com.hk domains vs .com?
Generally speaking, .hk represents the identity of “Hongkonger”, sharing Hong Kong peoples’ values and beliefs.
.com.hk is registered by commercial entities with Business Registration certificates or equivalents while .hk can be registered by any local and overseas company, organisations or Hongkongers
Both .hk and .com.hk give people unique Hong Kong Brand online that .com doesn’t have.
Can you share data % split of .com.hk vs .hk?
- As of 1 Aug 2015, the total registration of domain names was 283,017
- Of the total registration, 48.26% is for .hk registration while 48.12% is for .com.hk registration which account for 136,582 and 136,188 domain names respectively
- For more data, click here
Are there any policies in Hong Kong in regards domain names? For instance, is it legal to purchase apple.hk ), sony.hk (http://sony.hk)?
.hk domain registration policy is based on first-come-first-served. All parties can register different types of domain names based on its eligibility requirement such as documentary proofs or equivalents.
Have you seen any case studies where a HK company was in trouble for purchasing a domain name?
Not at all, people can get a good domain name at their choices. The total registration is only 283K and many good domain names still available for registration
However, registrants may raise a dispute if want to get the domain names back from others. If so, they have to contact the appointed dispute resolution service provider.
At present, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) is the only dispute resolution service provider for .hk and .香港
Has domaining come to Hong Kong? Do you see buyers purchasing generic .hk names in bulk?
Some direct registrants or registrars have made bulk purchases, either for convenience or on behalf of clients. Some do so for brand protection.
What else should entrepreneurs know about domain names?
We highly recommended companies with a local presence and start-ups to get .hk immediately.
.hk and .香港, the Top Level Domains for Hong Kong, are valued by Hong Kong people and the global business community alike.
.hk domain names are the digital assets that represent a company’s unique online “Hong Kong Brand”. They can help businesses highlight their Hong Kong presence and their commitment to provide quality products and services to their customers.
We offer Buy One Get Two, which means register English .hk and a Chinese.香港 for the price of one. You can go to whois to check domain name availability https://www.hkirc.hk/whois/whois.jsp.
Interview with Dorothy Chow at HKIRC
