How Difficult is it to open a bank account in Hong Kong?

In fact, Hong Kong is a well-established international financial center with advantages over distant offshore islands.

The success percentage for non-HK residents is approximately 10%. Governments and banks are to blame.

Many overseas clients, particularly non-HK citizens, have recently been unable to open bank accounts in HK for their businesses, whether or not they are incorporated in HK.

Following increased public awareness of global tax evasion and terrorism, the Hong Kong government tightened anti-money laundering legislation. To avoid breaking these laws, HK banks that operate under the regime of related banking and finance laws take an extremely cautious approach to verifying the identities and activities of their customers.

The banks’ first line of defense is to activate a strict screening system for new customers. They impose a strict Know-Your-Clients policy (KYC) on their customers, and if they cannot fully meet it, they would reject these risky account opening applications.

Some banks go so far as to outright prohibit certain nationalities and economic activity from creating business accounts HK.