Most of the world-famous banks have their head offices in Hong Kong. Today, Hong Kong occupies the 9th place in the ranking of international 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 platform.
As for 2011 in Hong Kong, there were 161 registered offices of various banks with a full license (128 of them originally created in other jurisdictions), 12 restricted license banks (of which 9 out of Hong Kong), and 26 deposit-taking companies (all registered in Hong Kong). In addition, Hong Kong successfully conducts business 65 local representative offices of foreign banks.
Among the top Hong Kong banks are:
The benefits of working with banks in Hong Kong are anonymity, banking secrecy, lack of information sharing agreements, no wealth tax, online banking, credit cards, accounts in 10 currencies of the world, and more.
Banking secrecy is fixed by government decree and Hong Kong is the confidentiality of information that banks provide to their customers, taking their money for storage and maintenance. Banking secrecy shall apply to all participants associated with the opening of accounts even if these accounts are not opened, and also applies to all the information which has or will have a bank.
Hong Kong banks are also very comfortable to work with, they are actively using remote account management tools – online banking, account management by phone or fax.
Of particular importance in Hong Kong banks pay security service accounts of their clients. The main methods of protection are electronic keys used to generate the code, which is then introduced for the implementation of operations on the account and control them, as well as password protection, the code word, and authorized signature.
What is the 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 and KYC Due Diligence Hong Kong banks. The client should not be enrolled in the lists of World Compliance and World-Check.
Not necessarily 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 for opening 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 its equivalent official document confirming the identity of the client
- Documents confirming his residential address.
For persons residing in Hong Kong, it is necessary to confirm a local residential address. This can be done through the provision of any bill, which featured home address, such as a utility bill or electricity. If the client is not a resident of Hong Kong, it is also obliged to confirm the address in his 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
To conduct financial transactions, a company needs a bank account. Due to the absence of foreign exchange control, assets input and output are possible without 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 needs a personal meeting with a representative of the bank, then the bank will have up to 5 weeks to make a decision.
To open a bank account in Hong Kong, the client needs the following documents:
- ID card or passport
- Confirmation of permanent residence address – driver’s license, utility bill, or bank statement (the date of receipt of the document not earlier than 3 months). If the document is made 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.