It has become increasingly difficult to open up a bank account nowadays, particularly for non-Hong Kongers or companies. It usually takes one to two months for the banks to do the paperwork and some may still fail. Things Were Different in the 90s Recently, some of my clients and friends have encountered with similar difficulties:…
As mentioned above, since the international community has stepped up its efforts to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion in the past few years, banks have been required to comply with more stringent international regulatory requirements and it has become much more difficult to open business accounts. As a small business or a…
As mentioned in the previous article, banks are now adopting the KYC (Know Your Customer) procedures to decide whether to accept a bank account applicant as a customer. The KYC process is challenging and everyone who tries to apply for a business bank account should be well prepared for it. 1）Company Documents Company Incorporation Certificate…
If you applied for a business account in Hong Kong five or six years ago, the procedures were rather simple: set up a company and then go to any bank to apply for an business account. The bank would simply ask you a few questions about the company’s business nature and if everything went well,…
Why open a bank account in Hong Kong? Free allocation of capital due to absence of foreign exchange control Free exchange of different currencies Ease of international trade clearance Higher real interest due to absence of interest tax User-friendly account operation Ease of financing with international banks In general, the following documents are required for…
The next step for a newly established company is to open a corporate bank account to handle the transactions between customers and suppliers. It is rather difficult for Hong Kong companies, especially for foreign investors and newly established companies, to set up bank accounts. They often have to wait for months to get the account…