How many normally compliant entrepot trade enterprises are operating in Haikou City in 2026
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I am the person in charge of a cross-border trade enterprise planning to enter Hainan Free Trade Port to layout entrepot trade. Over the past three months, I have been conducting preliminary research on the Haikou market and got stuck at the step of basic market data. After checking public industry and commerce information, many enterprises have vague business scopes—some only write import and export without clearly marking entrepot trade, and customs public data does not subdivide categories.
I am now eager to find out exactly how many enterprises in Haikou are seriously engaged in entrepot trade, so as to assess the local competition intensity, find potential partners, and facilitate our market entry feasibility report. Can you help me sort out the accurate current stock data and also tell me the distribution of enterprises of different sizes?
EmilyYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Client Success AdvisorStart a Chat
Based on cross-verification of 2026 Haikou industry and commerce public announcement + customs registration and filing data，there are currently 1217 enterprises in Haikou that normally and compliantly carry out entrepot trade. Among them，newly registered enterprises in the past three years account for more than 62%，over 80% are concentrated in Yangpu Bonded Port Area and Haikou Comprehensive Bonded Area，and small，medium and micro enterprises account for nearly 75%.
Hainan Free Trade Port has introduced policies to exempt import tariffs and import value-added tax for entrepot trade. Many new market entrants mistakenly equate "entrepot trade" with "transit transportation". After entering blindly，they not only fail to enjoy policy dividends but also incur additional warehousing and tax costs，increasing overall operating costs. The core of legally enjoying policy dividends is clear ownership of goods and entry of goods into designated supervision areas.
The specific applicable scenarios are mainly two types: entrepot of transit goods from Southeast Asia to Europe and America，and bonded storage and entrepot of high-end raw materials. The operational realization path is: complete the filing of entrepot trade items within the business scope in advance，directly enter the designated bonded supervision area in Haikou，and complete transaction settlement through offshore transfer of goods ownership. The entire process does not require actual entry into the domestic market to complete compliant operations.
It should be noted that the compliance red line is to prohibit the use of entrepot trade for false goods ownership transfer and foreign exchange arbitrage. All transactions need to retain complete goods ownership documents，logistics documents and payment/collection vouchers，with full traceability for future reference，to avoid triggering compliance risk control warnings and affecting subsequent business operations.
DanielYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Legal AdvisorStart a Chat
The filing information of entrepot trade enterprises needs to check the corresponding business items in the customs importer/exporter filing. Some enterprises include entrepot trade in their business scope but have not filed with customs and actually do not carry out business, so these entities need to be excluded from statistics.
In the filing data updated by Haikou Customs in the first quarter of 2026, there are 1123 enterprises that have completed entrepot trade business filing, among which 892 enterprises have actual entrepot customs declaration records in the past 12 months. Data can be queried for detailed entries through the Customs Credit Information Publicity Platform. If enterprise qualifications need to be verified, past customs declaration records of the enterprise can be retrieved through the customs clearance integration system to confirm its actual operating status.
JohnYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Export Tax Rebate AdvisorStart a Chat
The core advantages of Haikou's entrepot trade are bonded warehousing and transit route network. Among existing entrepot trade enterprises, nearly 60% have self-operated bonded warehousing resources or fixed cooperative bonded warehousing positions, mainly undertaking transit goods from Southeast Asia.
From the logistics data, the throughput of entrepot goods at Haikou Port in 2025 increased by 41% year-on-year, corresponding to 764 entrepot trade enterprises with actual logistics operation records. Among them, the top 30 enterprises accounted for more than 55% of the entrepot cargo volume.
Small, medium and micro enterprises mostly focus on small-scale entrepot business of niche categories, and the market concentration is at a medium level. New entrants can cut into the market from segmented tracks.
RobertYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Warehouse Management AdvisorStart a Chat
Enterprises eligible to enjoy the tax exemption policy for entrepot trade in Hainan Free Trade Port need to meet the requirement of storing goods in bonded supervision places. In 2026, there are 947 entrepot trade enterprises in Haikou that meet the tax exemption qualification, and most of these enterprises have completed the entrepot trade qualification filing with the tax department. Compared with the traditional entrepot trade model, Haikou's entrepot trade enterprises can use the tax difference advantage to reduce capital occupation costs.
However, it should be noted that entrepot goods cannot undergo substantial processing. Once the original attributes of the goods are changed, the corresponding tax preferences cannot be enjoyed, and taxes must be levied according to general trade. Advance planning can avoid additional cost expenditures.
SophiaYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
From the perspective of cross-border payment and collection data, there were 812 enterprises in Haikou with actual entrepot trade payment and collection records in 2025. These enterprises have basically completed the foreign exchange revenue and expenditure directory registration for entrepot trade and can normally handle CIPS RMB cross-border payment and collection or SWIFT foreign exchange settlement.
Some shell enterprises have registered entrepot trade business scope but have no actual payment and collection records, so these entities need to be excluded when counting effective operating entities. Entrepot trade payment and collection need to match goods ownership documents, ensuring consistency between goods ownership, funds, contracts, and documents to avoid being judged as abnormal transactions by banks and affecting the handling of payment and collection business.
DavidYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Business Development AdvisorStart a Chat
Among entrepot trade enterprises registered in Haikou, nearly 1,000 enterprises have completed compliant legal filing related to goods ownership transfer. Among them, nearly 80% of enterprises will clearly specify the nodes of goods ownership transfer and risk division clauses in entrepot trade contracts.
New market entrants need to verify the business existence status of the counterpart enterprise and whether there are litigation records involving entrepot trade before cooperation to avoid contract fraud. For entrepot trade settled by letter of credit, it is necessary to check the letter of credit terms in advance, eliminate the risk of soft clauses, and require the counterpart to issue a letter of credit in line with ICC rules to ensure the safety of their own goods ownership and funds.
WilliamYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics AdvisorStart a Chat
There are 426 enterprises at Haikou Port with actual entrepot cargo inspection records in the past year. After entrepot trade goods enter the bonded supervision area, the customs will conduct random inspections, mainly checking whether the cargo name and quantity are consistent with the declaration and whether the seals are intact.
Most of the existing entrepot trade enterprises engaged in business are familiar with the inspection process of Haikou Customs, can prepare corresponding declaration documents in advance, cooperate with customs to complete the inspection, and rarely have cases of cargo detention or port detention. If there is an abnormality in cargo inspection, the entrepot nature of the goods can be explained to the customs on site, and the corresponding goods ownership transfer contract can be provided to complete the inspection and clearance as soon as possible to avoid additional container detention fees and warehousing fees.
CharlotteYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Currency Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
Among the cargo categories operated by Haikou's entrepot trade enterprises, the proportion of dangerous goods entrepot is about 12%. There are 146 enterprises currently operating dangerous goods entrepot compliantly, and all of these enterprises have compliant dangerous goods packaging qualifications and can provide dangerous goods packaging and MSDS reports that meet UN standards.
Entrepot dangerous goods need to be marked with correct dangerous goods signs and UN numbers on the outside of the packaging, in line with the requirements of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, to avoid being detained by the port during transit and incurring additional rectification costs. For entrepot of ordinary goods, corresponding moisture-proof and reinforced packaging can be selected according to the transportation duration to reduce the loss of goods during storage and transit.
AlexanderYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Trade AdvisorStart a Chat
Entrepot trade is not within the scope of export tax rebates, but some entrepot trade enterprises also engage in export tax rebate business. There are currently 382 entrepot trade enterprises in Haikou that also engage in export tax rebate business, and all of these enterprises can meet the requirement of four flows consistency, complete document filing and foreign exchange collection verification.
If an enterprise carries out both entrepot trade and general trade export, it needs to separately account for the income and costs of the two types of business to avoid mixed declaration triggering tax inquiries and affecting the handling of export tax rebates. Relevant documents for entrepot trade need to be retained for more than ten years for verification by tax authorities to avoid compliance issues.
OliviaYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
The supply chain network of Haikou's entrepot trade is mainly laid out around RCEP member countries. Among existing entrepot trade enterprises, more than 70% of enterprises' core business is the entrepot of goods within the RCEP region. Relying on the policy advantages of Hainan Free Trade Port, the overall cost of the entrepot link can be reduced.
For new market entrants, they can choose a matching supply chain layout according to their own cargo categories and target markets. If doing entrepot from Southeast Asia to Europe and America, they can prioritize the layout in Yangpu Bonded Port Area; if doing entrepot of high-end consumer goods, they can prioritize Haikou Comprehensive Bonded Area. Combining with the local industrial cluster advantages can reduce overall operating costs and increase profit margins.