① Starting March 29, opening a card account in Hong Kong requires the minimum requirement to deposit and maintain the account assets of HK$8 million (or equivalent currency)”. However, existing one-card accounts can be used as usual without being restricted by the new regulations. ② Some Bank of China Hong Kong branches only have an appointment left to open an account on March 27th. ③ After the Spring Festival, there was an increase in the number of inquiries and orders from mainland visitors to Hong Kong compared to the end of last year.
Financial Services Association, March 19 (Reporter Leung Ke-chi) Recently, an investor told the Financial Federation that the threshold for mainland residents to open an account at the Hong Kong branch of China Merchants Bank in Hong Kong has been raised drastically, and it is close to the asset size requirements of private banks before opening an account.
A CFC reporter checked the website of China Merchants Bank Hong Kong Branch and found that in a notice posted on February 29, “In order to further improve the overall service quality of the branch, opening a one-card account in Hong Kong will require the minimum requirement to deposit and maintain the account assets of HK$8 million (or equivalent currency) from March 29.”
Another notice issued on October 3, 2023 shows that starting November 6 last year, the CMB Hong Kong Card must meet the 8 million Hong Kong dollar asset (or equivalent currency) requirement.
In contrast, the latest notice further increased the requirement to “maintain” HK$8 million or equivalent assets.
On March 19, a number of people in the Hong Kong financial community told the Financial Federation that it is currently normal for mainland residents to open accounts in Hong Kong; it is possible that individual banks have raised account opening requirements. On March 19, a Financial Services Association reporter interviewed China Merchants Bank on related matters, but no response had been received as of press release.
China Merchants Bank has drastically raised the threshold for opening an account in Hong Kong. The Bank of China has only one day left to make an appointment in Hong Kong
In a notice that came into effect on March 29, the Hong Kong branch of China Merchants Bank stated that existing one-card accounts can be used as usual without being restricted by the new regulations.
The Financial Services Association reporter logged on to the China Merchants Bank Hong Kong Branch's official account for account opening services. The account opening conditions notice posted on November 3 last year showed that in addition to the regular information requirements, it is necessary to meet the requirements for opening an account with an asset of HK$8 million.
According to CMB's 2022 annual report, the Hong Kong branch was established in 2002 and was CMB's first overseas branch, with revenue of HK$2.88 billion and total assets of HK$117.1 billion.
Furthermore, on the official websites of banks that are popular with mainland residents, such as HSBC Bank, Bank of China Hong Kong, and China Merchants Wing Lung Bank, account opening requirements are currently normal, and there are no special asset requirements for mainland residents.
On March 19, a person from a foreign insurance company in Hong Kong told the Financial Federation that the current account opening situation in Hong Kong is normal. It is possible that some banks will adjust account opening due to manpower and internal issues. There are many bank options, so you can make an appointment in advance.
However, the Financial Services Association reporter tried to apply online for BOCHK account opening appointments and found that the vast majority of branches can no longer be booked. The reservation schedules are all gray and unclickable. Some branches only have March 27 left to make an appointment to open an account.
After Hong Kong's travel restrictions were lifted in March 2023, many mainland residents flocked to Hong Kong.
Last year, mainstream commercial banks in China continued to cut interest rates, and deposit interest rates basically bid farewell to the “3%” era; at the same time, the exchange rate of RMB against the US dollar continued to be pressured, and Hong Kong dollar and US dollar term deposits became high-quality assets chased by mainland residents.
Is account opening in Hong Kong still popular?
On March 19, the Financial Services Association reporter telephoned China Merchants Wing Lung Bank, a subsidiary of CMB. The customer service said that currently, opening a regular account in Hong Kong only requires maintaining an average daily asset of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars. In addition, there are also 500,000 Golden Sunflower customers and 5 million private wealth management accounts.
According to media reports in June of last year, Bank of China Hong Kong staff said that customers who open new accounts have a starting investment of HKD 10,000 HKD, and they can enjoy discounts of 3.3% per annum for 3 months and 3.4% per annum for 6 months when applying through online banking or mobile banking.
CCB Asia's requirement for new customers is that they start at HK$100,000 and upgrade to the bank's VIP wealth management customers if they meet the HK$1 million starting deposit standard; ICBC Asia's discount for new customers who deposit HK$100,000 is 4.2% per annum for 3 months.
For US dollar products, banks have annualized interest rates ranging from 3.7% to 4.2%, and the starting deposit requirements vary. Some only require $1,000, while others require the equivalent of at least HK$100,000.
A relevant person from DBS Bank also told the Financial Association reporter that the bank does not provide products similar to the China Merchants Bank Hong Kong Card. Currently, DBS Hong Kong provides customers in Hong Kong and mainland China with two types of bank accounts (excluding Hong Kong Card service): (1) DBS Treasures accounts (DBS Treasures), which require an asset management scale of HK$1 million; (2) general DBS accounts (DBS accounts), which require an asset management scale of HK$200,000.
If the asset management scale of the above two accounts falls below the required account opening standards, the relevant service fees will be charged.
On March 19, the account director of a Hong Kong wealth management company told the Financial Federation that after the Spring Festival, in addition to the government's announcement to relax the property market and implement a 30 million investment immigration plan three months in advance, the number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong consulting and placing orders has increased compared to the end of last year, and demand for insurance purchases is still quite strong.
Earlier, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced that the New Capital Investor Entry Program will start accepting applications on March 1. Eligible applicants must invest at least HK$30 million in permitted investment assets. If they have lived in Hong Kong continuously for no less than 7 years, they can apply to become permanent residents of Hong Kong in accordance with the law.
The wealth manager mentioned above said that in the past two years of contact with mainland customers, they have discovered that their awareness of overseas asset allocation is more obvious than before. Recently, the US dollar interest rate cut may affect deposit-type assets, but it is beneficial to equity assets, plus preferential policies and guidance, and I believe Hong Kong is still attractive to mainland customers.