Political risk with HK banks

[Berti]

We have a HK Ltd. with a bank account at HSBC HK, were we also hold our company assets.
What is your opinion about the political risk involved holding all assets with a HK bank, especially regarding a possible Taiwan conflict? I know that HSBC is a British bank, but still we are with the HK entity.

What would you recommend to do?
We think about opening an account in Singapore and hold our assets there, but also make a part of the payments via the bank in Singapore. Is this even possible, as most Singapore banks have branches in HK and will probably want us to open the account with the HK branches?

 

[JackAlabama]

Depends on your passport you are registering all of this. If you are Mexican or Argentinian︀ or African for that matter, it might be ok. But if you hold a passport︁ of one of the aggressive Western states, you are going to tempt your fate.
I mean if China eventually gets the same treatment as Russia is getting right now, they︂ gonna have to retaliate somehow which includes HK as well as Singapore (Singapore is a︃ clear case if one looks at its demographics and who they cater to).

But we︄ might not gonna get this at all, afaik its not a given since the current︅ rulers are far from being that powerful due to huge technological shifts but remind more︆ of a wounded animal.

I did banking in this place but stopped.

 

[Berti]

I think the main threat could be cutoff from international payment systems︃ and limited US-Dollar and Eur supply. So not passport related.

I don‘t see why Singapore︄ should be affected.

 

[MaxFS]

I think if western countries cut off international payments in⁠ China it would be collapse affecting the whole world economy. I doubt it's gonna happen.⁤ It only makes Chinese CIPS (equivalent of SWIFT) more valuable and powerful. Moreover, even now⁣ in Russia there are banks still working with SWIFT (that's odd, but it's true) those⁢ who don,t just use proxy companies in CIS countries.
if i were you i wouldn't︀ worry that much, at least for now. Though i think Singapore is good variant anyway.︁

 

[Clank]

If you think about it in a different way, you could say your money is‌ safer as it's out of reach from the US and Western countries.

 

[Wellington]

Singapore has a lot of protections in place, for example their bullion︃ market. Singapore thrives on being neutral and protecting the assets of their account holders.

 

[Berti]

I agree, but you never know if they will find some creative ways to limit︀ currency supply and still keep the system going. So the banks would limit transfers to︁ own accounts outside HK.
I‘m aware the probability is low

 

[thomasparra]

Hong Kong is the 3rd city with the most hedge funds, after NYC and Boston so I would not worry too much especially if you are banking with a non Chinese/Asian bank. Keep your personal cash in offshore accounts in reputable juridictions. Try to be lean on the business side, and if not needed invest treasury in safe financial instruments (US treasuries, ETFs) thru a reliable broker.

 

[thomasparra]

Hong Kong is the 3rd city with the most hedge funds, after NYC and Boston‌ so I would not worry too much especially if you are banking with a non‍ Chinese/Asian bank. Keep your personal cash in offshore accounts in reputable juridictions. Try to be⁠ lean on the business side, and if not needed invest treasury in safe financial instruments⁤ (US treasuries, ETFs) thru a reliable broker.

 

[JackAlabama]

That risk is easy to mitigate with Bitcoin and Tether⁠ etc.
There are already cutoffs in place around the world, so its merely a nuisance⁤ and a small tax/fee these days.

Have a look at its demographics and it could⁣ certainly happen.