Hongkong Bank account for Seychelles IBC

Hello friends i am travelling to hongkong in a week and thought if i can open an account for my company (seychelles ibc ) with any of the banks in hongkong there.
Do you have some business ties to Hong Kong (customers, suppliers, ...)? If yes, then it is difficult but it might be doable with some introduction. If not, then next to impossible.

P.S. Seychelles IBC can have a HK account with Currenxie (in general, I have no clue about your business and whether they would like it) – no need to travel.
 
It will be very hard,

Firstly, If you have an onshore company, such as a Hong Kong company, you need a very strong business connection with Hong Kong or mainland China(customers, suppliers, office, employees), then they will consider your company. But the compliance team/onboarding team still will ask tons of questions: 'Why do you need a bank account in Hong Kong?' So you need a strong proof of business connection with this area. Or the teller/banker who works at the branch will say no to you at first.

Secondly, If you bring an offshore company, such as BVI, Cayman or Seychelles, it will have 2 options:
a) private investment company, you use your company to invest with your own money. It will be much easier to onboard banks in HK with a clean USD 10m. The Citi HK PB, HSBC PB, DBS PB, and Dah Sing Bank will be happy to onboard both you and your offshore company and then provide some insurance and funds for you to invest.
b) If you doing some business and something like "transaction banking".

If your company's annual revenue is lower than ~ USD 10m or something, you need to explain 2 things to banks:

① Why do you need a bank account in Hong Kong? Do you have a strong business connection with Hong Kong or China?
⓶ Why do you use an offshore entity rather than a Hong Kong local company?

You still need tons of documents and files to explain these 2 questions. Sometimes you can prove the question ①, But the bankers will still advise you to set up an entity in Hong Kong, so they can onboard you.

If your company's annual revenue is pretty high, or you have other companies listed on the Stock Exchange or you have an existing bank account in a commercial banking department in another country, It will be much easier.
For example, a bank with US Capital can onboard BVI with an annual turnover of more than USD 20m
Another case is, that we have a listed supplier, that bank with Bank of American Hong Kong branch.
 
Reactions: ilke and mraleph
To the above questions i plan to supply computer hardware from shenzhen for some selected clients in Africa( one of the reasons to open the seychelles ibc was to cater to some african clients).My african clients would mostly not work with a Hongkong company.In this case what kind of documents might these banks ask for and which banks do you recommend me to try for.
 
What's your annual volume?
I think you can use some fintech:
VertoFX
PingPong
WorldFirst
 
It does not seem to have much (or maybe any) HK connection and it is not a particularly profitable activity for the banks. HK non-resident (i.e., onboarding a non-local company and/or one that does not have local substance) banking is almost always available only for wealth management purposes or similar activities that bring high economic value to the entity.

I'd say try PingPongX or Currenxie, both of which will work well for B2B trade and provide HK receiving details.
 
I recommend PingPong, It provides Hong Kong local VA and African local VA.
but I'm not sure if they will onboard Seychelles IBC, I'll check tmr with my contact in PingPong Shanghai office.
 
Reactions: Forester
Hi, for such a lower volume, I think it will be very very hard to onboard any bank in Hong Kong, I'll help you to check with some Chinese fintech tmr for free (No profit, admins don't delete this post )
 
I second this.

I'd say try PingPongX or Currenxie, both of which will work well for B2B trade and provide HK receiving details.
Currenxie is very good in general; but they are reluctant to payments to and from a lot of African countries. So I am afraid that it won't fit.

The real reason for seychelles ibc was anonymity though and kind of easy to setup
Well... certain locations are (relatively) easy to setup but very difficult to find a proper banking.

Hi, for such a lower volume, I think it will be very very hard to onboard any bank in Hong Kong, I'll help you to check with some Chinese fintech tmr for free (No profit, admins don't delete this post )
I see and understand. It's OK
I share your opinion that a Chinese fintech is probably the only @providenceventurer 's viable chance (perhaps except of some Mauritian bank but I am not sure re:this).

P.S.
BTW, knowing something about the compliance at Worldfirst, I would hesitate to recommend it for @providenceventurer 's case
 
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Reactions: ilke
P.S. Seychelles IBC can have a HK account with Currenxie (in general, I have no clue about your business and whether they would like it) – no need to travel.
good to know, that make Seychelles worth to look into again. It was close to impossible to get a bank account for a SC company for the last 5 - 7 years. If currenxie opens accounts it change the picture.
 
Does adding supplying computer hardware from Hongkong make it worthwhile for these Hongkong banks to take a look at onboarding my business?I would have really loved to have a Hongkong bank account for my seychelles company.We have wise and advcash setup a long time ago for my company and then covid happened( and i was focusing on growing my p2p business hence i didnt venture out much to check for other bank accounts for my company except in Georgia ,UAE and Romania.)All of which were s**t shows.
 
I would say not enough. Honestly even locals with local companies often cannot get HSBC account directly as first account. And if you do, you will need to make an appointment and then wait 3 months for them to go though the papers.

If you are there anyway, you can make the appointments now, go that and check what happens. You may want to try Citi and Bank of China.

If you go there, tell them at least that all your suppliers are in Hong Kong and come with a lot of businesses your are buying from. You can get the names from hktdc marketplace. Tell them that you are working with local residents and want to hire them. And that you want to register your company in Hong Kong as local company (you could do this anyway and then decorate no tax and close after 3 years, no audit needed).

You may also want to check out @jafo's advice, but sure if it still helps:
 
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I would say not enough. Honestly even locals with local companies often cannot get HSBC account directly as first account.
I second this.

And if you do, you will need to make an appointment and then wait 3 months for them to go though the papers.
More likely half a year from the beginning to the end, I would say.

If you are there anyway, you can make the appointments now, go that and check what happens. You may want to try Citi and Bank of China.
Well, yes; but IMO it's wasting the time.

If you go there, tell them at least that all your suppliers are in Hong Kong and come with a lot of businesses your are buying from. You can get the names from hktdc marketplace.
They will ask him for papers documenting everything – invoices, agreements, etc.

And that you want to register your company in Hong Kong as local company (you could do this anyway and then decorate no tax and close after 3 years, no audit needed).
It's a plus, yes. But see above.

For personal accounts funded with a substantial wealth it should help. Yet business accounts make a different story – and are much more difficult to open.
 
No, Your annual volume is too low. The teller/banker at the branch will refuse you and it will waste time.

And I checked with PingPong, they can onboard you with HK and Africa VA. If you don't mind, I can share a unique link to register(No referral commission, make sure you can register successfully)
 
For personal accounts funded with a substantial wealth it should help. Yet business accounts make a different story – and are much more difficult to open.
That's true, Non-resident personal bank accounts and Non-resident business accounts have different ML risks for the bank. So it is always easy to onboard personal bank accounts.
 
I am interested as well if pingpong may onboard a Seychelles or nevis holding company
 
Reactions: providenceventurer
if pingpong may onboard a Seychelles or nevis holding company
In general yes (for Seychelles apparently, for Nevis probably); but it does not mean that they will like you and your business (e.g., they usually look for ties to China). For @providenceventurer with his China suppliers and African customers it was a viable solution; yet more information is needed about you / your business – not just to waste time. Share this info, it might show that e.g. Currenxie is a better bet for you (they onboard Nevis as well).
(And for both providers, you do not need any special link, you can go directly – in general.)
 
(And for both providers, you do not need any special link, you can go directly – in general.)
For PingPong, I have a strong connection so that I can make sure the success rate with a unique link


I am interested as well if pingpong may onboard a Seychelles or nevis holding company
I agree with @Forester . You need to disclose more information, such as your business, your nationality, and whether you have a business connection with China, Hong Kong, or Asia.
 
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