Most of the world famous banks have their head offices in Hong Kong. Today, the city occupies the 9th place in the ranking of financial centres in the number of external operations in the world and 2nd in Asia after Japan. The banking sector plays a crucial role in the development of Hong Kong as a trading and financial centre.
As for 2011 in Hong Kong, there were 161 registered offices of various banks with a full license, 12 banks with a restricted license and 26 deposit-taking companies.
Also, there are 65 offices of foreign banks successfully operate in the city.
The benefits of working with banks in Hong Kong are:
- anonymity
- banking secrecy
- no wealth tax
- usage of online banking
- credit cards
- accounts in 10 currencies of the world
- and more.
Banking secrecy in Hong Kong is declared by the government decree as the confidentiality of information that banks provide to their clients, taking their money for storage and maintenance.
It applies to all participants, associated with the opening of accounts, and o all the data about the client kept by the bank.
Hong Kong banks have very comfortable working conditions, are actively using remote account management tools, such as online banking, account management by phone or fax.
One of the most important criteria for Hong Kong banks is the security of customers’ accounts. The main methods of protection are electronic keys, combined with the password protection.
What is a procedure of opening an account in Hong Kong bank?
Open an account in a bank in Hong Kong is relatively easy if an individual or company has all the necessary documents that meet the requirements of KYC Due Diligence.
It is not necessary to be a resident or have a work visa in Hong Kong to open a bank account. However, if the requested person has a residence in one of the countries of the European Union or any Asian country, it greatly simplifies the procedure of opening a bank account.
It is possible to open an account as a corporate business or personal account. The procedure of opening of a corporate account requires more paperwork and time than opening a personal account.
Personal accounts
To open a personal account, a future client of the bank is required to submit the following:
- Passport or other official document confirming the identity of the client
- Documents confirming residential address
For persons residing in Hong Kong, it is necessary to confirm a local address for example, utility or electricity bill which featured home address . If the client is not a resident of Hong Kong, it is also obliged to confirm the address in their country. Very often, the bank sends a letter to the mailing address, which must then be submitted to the bank at the signing of the agreement to open an account. The bank may request any additional information about the client. Personal attendance at the opening of an account is mandatory.
Corporate accounts
A company needs a bank account to conduct financial transactions. Due to the absence of foreign exchange control, input and output of assets are possible without any restrictions. However, foreign nationals, first opening a bank account in Hong Kong, facing some difficulties because of the nature and complexity of the legislation preparation procedures.
To open a bank account, first of all, a customer need a personal meeting with a representative of the bank, then the bank will have up to five weeks to make a decision.
To open a bank account in Hong Kong, corporate client needs the following documents:
- ID card or passport
- Confirmation of permanent residence address, such as driver’s license, utility bill or bank statement the date of the document should not be earlier than 3 months . If the document is not in English, the client must provide a notarized translation
- Documents confirming the experience of activity in the business, which plans to develop a new company
Owners of some companies prefer to open an account in another country. According to the laws of Hong Kong, a foreign company can have a bank account in any jurisdiction. Thus, a company incorporated in Hong Kong can use an account in Singapore, and vice versa.