The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, is a territory on the southern coast of China at the South China Sea. It is an autonomous region with its own government. It is one of the leading economic and financial centers of the world and one of the primary banking centers of Asia. The population is 7,200,000, making it one of the world’s most densely populated areas.
Hong Kong is the world’s fifth leading financial centre. Hong Kong has one of the highest concentrations of financial institutions in the world. In 2014, Hong Kong surpassed Japan in average daily foreign-exchange trading volume. As one of the world’s leading financial hubs, Hong Kong remains very popular as a banking jurisdiction, rivaled only by Switzerland in terms of stability and banking quality.
As of 2015, Hong Kong has 159 licensed banks, 21 restricted license banks and 23 deposit-taking companies, constituting a total of 203 authorized institutions with 1,372 local branches. There are also 63 local representative offices of foreign banks in Hong Kong.
Laws and Regulations
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission are the financial services regulators of Hong Kong, along with the Bank of China. Various departments of the BOC and the Monetary Authority are responsible for regulatory oversight of the banking industry in Hong Kong, with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission being responsible for regulating the financial markets. These departments hold various regulatory mandates to oversee the activities of domestic banks, foreign banks as well as financial services firms and other financial institutions.
Bank Secrecy
Hong Kong is ranked at 3rd position on the 2014 Financial Secrecy Index, which places it at the very top end of the secrecy scale. Hong Kong accounts for over 4 per cent of the global market for offshore financial services, making it a large player. As per the Financial Secrecy Index, Hong Kong is one of the world’s fastest growing secrecy jurisdictions today. The financial secrecy index quotes, that “Hong Kong built itself up over the decades on a spirit of extreme laissez-faire and anti-tax, and even anti-government attitudes and some called it the freest economy in the world”.
Electronic Payments
Hong Kong is a member of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). The SWIFT network is the safest and most secure system for financial transactions worldwide.
Banking Facilities
Registratour has a relationship with an extensive network of private and major banks in Hong Kong. All of the banks we refer our customers to offer a full international banking platform, with multi-currency accounts (£, €, $) as well as online banking and debit/credit cards, for both corporate and private bank accounts.
Once your order has been completed, you will be assigned a dedicated account manager that will guide you through the bank account opening procedure. Then, we will carefully select with you a bank from one of our leading partners, which perfectly fits your requirements like a tailored suit.
Which documents are needed to open a bank account?
As a general rule the bank asks for a certified passport copy of the shareholder(s) and director(s) (beneficial owners), a proof of address which must be less than three months old as well as a bank reference letter. If the client goes to the bank in person to open the account, a certified copy of the passport is not required.
We will send you the additional documents necessary for opening the account by email, as an attachment, for you to sign and return to us preferably by special courier ( DHL, FedEx), along with the other documents mentioned above.