Additional Information: Opening Bank Account in Hong Kong

Bank account opening procedure depends on the bank you want to use. Some banks require all the directors and authorized signatories to come to Hong Kong in person while others allow you to visit their overseas branch.

Standard procedure of opening the account starts when the client brings the blank account opening forms (usually provided by the agent) to any branch of this bank where he lives, together with his passport and a reference letter from his banker.

Then the client signs the account opening form in the presence of the bank staff. When the client has signed the document, the staff will put his signatures, or put a chop witnessing the client's signature. At that time, the staff from the bank makes a photocopy of the client's passport, puts a chop and a sign on the passport photocopy, certifying that this is a true copy of the original passport (only the pages with holder's information should be copied).

After that the client receives back the account opening form and sends it to the agent for submitting it to the bank in Hong Kong.

Note: the client does not have to fill out the form before signing it. Also, in some cases, the witnessing bank sends the documents back to Hong Kong directly.