Open a personal bank account in SG/HK 2023

[Mimimel]

Hi, i will be soon in hong kong and Singapour for few day and i need recommandation about bank, agency, banker, documents needed etc.. for open an a personal account fastly in person. (i prefer to open in SG than HK)

About my situation : malta/panama residency + french passport and for start i would like to deposit maximum 50-100k$ to an multicurenccy account.

i would like to know if :

- Someone have recently do this in 2023 or end of 2022 ?
- What documents can be needed for a non resident ?
- Any usefull infos about, bank branch foreigner friendly, banker or contact

Thank you.

 

[Sols]

You'll struggle if 100,000 USD is a firm upper limit.

In Singapore, I think only‌ UOB will consider non-residents for amounts under 100,000. The other two of the big local‍ banks (OCBC and DBS) want 150-250,000 minimum.

In Hong Kong, you can try OCBC Wing⁠ Hang, DBS, Dah Sing, Citibank, Standard Chartered, and CMB Wing Lung. The usual minimum for⁤ wealth management (which is what's required to open a personal account most of the time⁣ nowadays) is one million HKD.

Contact the banks ahead of time to make an appointment.⁢ Focus on wealth management and private banking options. That usually works better as you might︀ be able to get a lot of the onboarding process done remotely. They'll also let︁ you know which documents to bring in person.

 

[Mimimel]

Thanks for︂ the reply, I might reconsider my deposit, after that if we just have to leave︃ the funds 24 hours I can put more, but I would never leave 200-300k on︄ a new account it's too risky.

 

[JustAnotherNomad]

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to open an account there? If you‌ have EU residency + EU passport, shouldn't there be many other options? Like IBKR?

 

[Sols]

After a⁠ while of just charging you a higher monthly penalty fee, they will close your account⁤ if you don't keep the minimum deposit. Maybe banking in HK or SG just isn't⁣ a good fit.

 

[Mimimel]

I need multicurrency and diversification. I already have enough accounts in⁠ Europe and the US

That why i need a small deposit to 50-100K im not looking a saving account, just⁢ a checking acc for use it in asia, with asian currency. At 200-300K I don't︀ know how much they offering in interest rate but I don't think it will be︁ any better than what I already have.

 

[Sols]

Banks in⁤ HK and SG don't open accounts for non-residents like that anymore. The regulatory climate has⁣ changed. In most cases, the risk/reward calculation just doesn't make sense anymore for opening regular⁢ retail banking for non-residents.

If you just need a checking account with local currency, maybe︀ an EMI/non-bank financial institution is a better fit? Wise, Revolut, Airwallex, Currenxie, and so on.︁

 

[Mimimel]

It is a bad news, maybe be here⁣ on this forum some introducer or contact to bypass this, but probably low chance. About⁢ EMI not fan too many problems. i use airwallex/currenxie but they do not propose personal︀ acc, it is only for business purpose.

 

[lacomaco]

DBS is⁠ one of safest banks in the world. You can of course think that keeping EUR⁤ 250,000 there is risky, but then I do not know which bank is your preferred⁣ bank for safety - maybe Pictet or Lombard Odier but otherwise...

 

[Mimimel]

The safety of the bank is not an issue. It is just⁤ that i dont like to put 200-300k on the same place even if the bank⁣ is totally safe. I prefer to split on different banks.

 

[Moonlighter]

These banks have brokerage options and you could put your funds into a money market‌ fund. SDIC is fairly low at S$75,000 and if you hold investments it counts towards‍ your AUM.

DBS has one of the highest liquidity coverage ratios in the industry and⁠ is one of the largest Asian banks. Very unlikely it will go bust.