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Looking to purchase a shell HK company with HK bank account

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Sep 2018
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    2

    Post Looking to purchase a shell HK company with HK bank account

    Hi there,

    I am looking to acquire a HK company with HK bank account to conduct foreign trade. I am based in Australia, Sydney and am a citizen of Australia.

    My business is mainly connected with importing goods from China and selling products in Australia as well as overseas.
    I am more than happy to share more information for those who are interested.

    I noticed that there were a few threads posted by people looking to sell their companies.

    Reason I don't want to open a new company is because I want to save myself from going through the procedure of opening a bank account in HK plus not being sure whether this procedure is going to be successful.

    Regards,
    Nikolai


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Dec 2002
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    Any meaningful change of ownership or business patterns will likely trigger a KYC or AML review.

    So what's the point?


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Sep 2018
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    I heard that is not always the case. Do you know whether the KYC would require my physical presence in HK? Let me know


  4. #4

    Join Date
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    Your business, your call. Just saying that buying a company for the sake of a bank account is not worth it.

    If you've heard its not the case, ask the person where you heard this from and how long ago this was the case. I'm just saying, in general it is not worth it, given recent changes in the regulations and reporting frameworks.

    Worth taking a look at this:

    https://geoexpat.com/forum/342/thread349891.html

    Best approach is to talk to a company formation / company secretary type outfit and seek their advice. Even they might require physical presence and verification of documents presented, as they fall into the new OECD reporting framework.

    Bernadette J W and jrkob like this.

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    Hong Kong
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    Slightly off-topic, though possibly a viable alternative for some people - but has anyone heard of Neat?

    They're not a real bank, but they do have a Stored Value Facility license which allows them to legally issue stored value MasterCards (which can be a pain to get from real banks). They also give a "bank account", but I don't know how that works as presumably they aren't officially licensed by the HKMA as a bank. It might be good enough for simple business use however.

    I'm keen to hear feedback from anyone who might have used them.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
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    Come to HK and do it the right way and save yourself future headache. If you are conducting trade, you are making money. Do it. I had to do some long haul flights to get financial accounts in order, pain in the neck but now I can solve issues with a phone call, but that required my presence in the first instance.