Have you ever been confused about the affiliated companies and business documents that banks require to submit when opening an account in Hong Kong? What exactly are these and what documents are required to meet the bank's requirements? Don't worry, today I'm going to take you through these mysterious pieces of information in detail, so that you can easily meet the requirements for opening an account!
In general, most mainstream banks will basically require the following documents to open a Hong Kong corporate account:
Hong Kong company certificate materials
Evidence of business
Bank statements
Personal Information of Directors
KYC forms
......
Newly established Hong Kong companies face a number of challenges.
First of all, since no transactions took place, business documents could not be provided.
Second, banks do not have access to the company's background information and business status, nor can they know the personal background and past history of shareholders.
These issues can lead to banks not being able to complete KYC requirements, which are also not in line with the regulator's regulations. And in order to solve these problems, the best way is to provide a domestic company with a flow of water as a background.
It should be noted that when banks require information on a Mainland company, they do not require customers to set up a Mainland company.
Rather, it is a move to understand the applicant's business background and business situation.
Therefore, providing domestic company information allows banks to understand the true situation of their customers, which is also to prevent financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing.
In short, the best way to solve the problem is to provide information about domestic companies as a background. In this way, banks can understand the actual situation of their customers and meet regulatory requirements. At the same time, customers should also cooperate with the relevant requirements of the bank to ensure that their business can run smoothly.
NO.1, Hong Kong company certificate materials
To open a Hong Kong company account, you need to provide company documents, similar to the materials required to open an account in a domestic company, including CI, BR, NNC1 or NAR1, etc.
NO.2. Business evidence
Business evidence refers to the relevant evidence used to prove that the company has actual operations and real business operations. For example, if the account opening company is Company A, then Company A will definitely have transactions with Company B if it has actual operations, then the following evidence needs to be provided:
1. A and B transaction contract (also called purchase and sale contract)
2. If it is an entry and exit business, a customs declaration/bill of lading is required
3. There will be bank statements and receipts for this transaction
Tips: Some people may have questions, for example, the company has just been established in Hong Kong, it is a brand new company, and you want to open an account, but the new company has no business evidence and bank statements.
This is where we come into play with the concept of an affiliate. If the Hong Kong company is newly established/has never operated / has never opened an account, etc., and cannot provide business materials and statements, the affiliated company is required to provide business evidence.
The affiliated company can be a domestic company or a company from other countries, but the directors/shareholders of the Hong Kong company must hold more than 25% of the shares in the affiliated company.
Let's take a concrete example to illustrate:
Mr. A and Mr. B hold 51% and 49% of the shares in Guangzhou XXX Co., Ltd. respectively, and Mr. A serves as a legal person
Then, if Hong Kong XXX Co., Ltd. wants to be related to Guangzhou XXX Co., Ltd., it is best for Mr. A to be the director of the Hong Kong company and hold the Hong Kong company as a major shareholder, and the minimum shareholding needs to exceed 25%, so that it can be regarded as a completed association. This requires the following documents:
1. Transaction contracts signed by affiliated companies
2. If it is a deposit and withdrawal business, the customs declaration/bill of lading will be provided
3. Bank statement and receipt of the transaction
4. All invoices for the transaction
Tips: The contract amount, the amount of the customs declaration/bill of lading, the amount of the bank receipt, and the invoice amount should correspond one-to-one, and the model/quantity/specification of the goods marked in the contract should be consistent with the customs declaration/bill of lading.
The above explains the complete business information application process and required materials.
NO.3. Bank statement
Bank statements usually refer to the bank transaction records of the opening company or affiliated company in the past six months, which can reflect its scale and operating conditions. In order to be valid, the bank statement must be exported from online banking and a PDF file with the bank's stamp is required. In this way, the bank can conduct the review and ensure that it is genuine and valid.
NO.4. Personal information of directors
The personal information of the directors includes the front and back photos of the directors' ID cards or Hong Kong and Macao travel permits, as well as their bank records in the last six months. This information is a very basic requirement that the supplier can easily provide. The preparation of this information is very necessary in order to better cooperate with the bank's account opening application.
NO.5. KYC form
The KYC form is an account opening form provided by the bank. The directors themselves are required to fill in the basic information truthfully. The bank will review the information filled in and make an appointment to open an account. In particular, it is important to note that the information filled in must be true and valid.
NO.6. What is the difficulty in opening an account for a Hong Kong company?
Incomplete bank account opening information: The account opening information required by the bank is often affected by the change of CRS policy, which leads to the insufficient preparation of account opening information for many companies, which is difficult to meet the requirements of the bank.
Company name involving sensitive words: It will be more difficult to apply for an account for a company that contains sensitive words such as international, group, investment, shares, etc.
Bank account opening conditions are not met: If the company operates a small number of business transactions, or the company's registered address does not meet the requirements, it may lead to bank account opening conditions that do not meet the requirements.
Lack of trust from the bank: Answering uncertain or vague questions during the interview with the bank manager can make the bank suspicious and refuse to open an account.
Involving special product industries: If oil, gold or securities, insurance, finance, real estate and other businesses are involved, it will lead to increased difficulty in opening an account.
Industries involving high-risk sensitive countries: If the company has business dealings with high-risk sensitive countries, it will also lead to the inability of banks to open accounts.
As different banks may have different designations of sensitive countries, customers need to understand the specific account opening requirements and policies of the bank in advance before submitting an account opening application. Ensure that the submitted account opening application documents are accurate and valid in order to successfully complete the account opening process.