Bringing the money out of HK

[shri]

Have you considered speaking to a tax advisor in your country?

A lot of countries have tax free investment possibilities - may be at lower yield, but there might just be some sort of middle ground that might let you maintain a more peaceful state of mind?

(I've lost track of what the original intention of the thread was ... just asking if you have looked at investment possibilities in your home country that are tax free and allow you free access to your capital at some point)

[john_1122]

Well, my country right now is HK, and it's going to remain that way for another year.

People have been banging on about me trying to avoid paying taxes (Shri should report me, etc.), but apparently nobody is surprised that HSBC would treat you as a UK-resident if you open a bank account in Jersey while being a resident in HK. So if you open an account in Jersey with HSBC are you a UK tax resident or a HK tax resident???

[foxwendal]

Well, my country right now is HK, and it's going to remain that way for another year.

People have been banging on about me trying to avoid paying taxes (Shri should report me, etc.), but apparently nobody is surprised that HSBC would treat you as a UK-resident if you open a bank account in Jersey while being a resident in HK. So if you open an account in Jersey with HSBC are you a UK tax resident or a HK tax resident???

You don’t become a UK tax resident just by having an HSBC Expat account. I haven’t had any tax implications on my investments as a HK resident holding Irish domiciled etfs there but as shri said, best you speak to a tax advisor for clarity

[shri]

Also, to clarify (and saying this because I don't know your tax / residency issues). Your "stocks" will be with HSBC UK and not Jersey. Jersey will be facilitating the account opening for stock / ETF trading with HSBC UK - investdirect or whatever it is called.

[foxwendal]

Has anybody tried Standard Chartered? I asked this morning, and you can open a Singapore and Malaysia domiciled account in HK, if you have priority banking (for which you need 1 Million HKD). The fees to buy/hold bonds/stocks seem to be lower than at HSBC, and taxes seem lower than in the UK.

Though I don't understand why I should pay taxes in UK if I open a UK based account. Don't I have to pay taxes in my country of residence? That's what everybody has been saying all along.

interesting. sounds a lot like the option offered by UBS for a HK managed, SG domiciled account I mentioned earlier. I wonder whether it’s the start of a trend for HK banks offering offshore domiciled/HK managed accounts with more people concerned about unlikely but possible capital controls.

[pin]

interesting. sounds a lot like the option offered by UBS for a HK managed, SG domiciled account I mentioned earlier. I wonder whether it’s the start of a trend for HK banks offering offshore domiciled/HK managed accounts with more people concerned about unlikely but possible capital controls.

Maybe time for a separate thread on this. Can you point to the UBS thing again? Have they got a minimum AUM?

I guess this is also what HSBC Expat is basically doing as well.

[foxwendal]

Maybe time for a separate thread on this. Can you point to the UBS thing again? Have they got a minimum AUM?

I guess this is also what HSBC Expat is basically doing as well.

post #49 of this thread
UBS would be a private bank account, so min AUM is much higher but its great to see SC offering similar platform at much lower requirements. But I do wonder if this kind of thing gains more traction in market, how effective would it really be in a worst case scenario.

As UBS has told me the hk managed/sg domiciled account falls under both HKMA jurisdiction and Sg regulatory body, although for different aspects of it. So it seems there could be some gray area in how distinct it is treated.

Perhaps if really want the separation of an offshore domiciled account, better not muddy the waters with a “hk managed“ aspect to it and just open one “truly” offshore?

[timonoj]

Hi...not sure if I should open a new thread for the same kind of subject.

I'm a "small potato", considering to move part of my mil. HKD to some other places in Asia. What would be the requisites to qualify for Premier in HSBC? Just having the million HKD? After moving part of it to other branches (say, HSBC Manila or HSBC Singapore), would it be new accounts? Would the premier requirement still validate if my money is in different branches/accounts of HSBC?

[shri]

@timonoj - I may be wrong, but you need sufficient funds in 1 location to maintain premier status. Maintaining 50% across two locations is not an option as far as I know.

Also, you may also need to meet some residency requirements... I am not entirely sure if I can walk into HSBC in HK and ask them for a bank account in say Zimbabwe, just because "I want one".

[timonoj]

@timonoj - I may be wrong, but you need sufficient funds in 1 location to maintain premier status. Maintaining 50% across two locations is not an option as far as I know.

Also, you may also need to meet some residency requirements... I am not entirely sure if I can walk into HSBC in HK and ask them for a bank account in say Zimbabwe, just because "I want one".

Thanks for clarifying!