What can I do to avoid being forced to cancel or freeze my Hong Kong account?

Analysis | Why did the bank choose to close your Hong Kong account?

With the complicated and changeable global economic situation in recent years and frequent cases of money laundering and fraud, Hong Kong presents a situation of "simple company registration, difficult bank account opening and high risk of account cancellation". Even if the account is opened, the account will be frozen or closed if some important details or precautions are not noticed in the maintenance.

Then, why is your Hong Kong account frozen? How to maintain and use it? Today, Zhuo Xin will do an analysis for you, hoping to solve your problem.

Reasons for closing Hong Kong accounts

1. Macro-control of the Hong Kong Government

In recent years, Chinese mainland and Hongkong severely cracked down on underground banks, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange severely cracked down on illegal acts such as false and deceptive foreign exchange transactions to curb money laundering and related crimes.

At the same time, the automatic exchange of tax-related account information between Hong Kong and the Mainland (CRS information exchange) has enhanced the government's ability to supervise the bank account information in Hong Kong. This system also effectively restricts some accounts that use overseas loopholes to avoid taxes, thus directly improving the transparency of taxation.

2. Adjustment of banks in Hong Kong

Over the past decade or so, many people have registered Hong Kong companies, opened accounts in Hong Kong banks and freely used US dollars, Hong Kong dollars and euros. Hong Kong companies do not file tax returns, audit accounts and pay taxes all the year round, pretending not to do business. (Note: It is to prepare accounts and issue audit reports, not annual review. )

The Bank of Hong Kong issued a notice to Hong Kong users, demanding that not only the company certification documents must be improved, but also the recent audit reports and financial statements as certification materials. If not provided in time, the bank account will be frozen or sealed up.

For most legally operated companies in Hong Kong, the daily business is seriously affected after the accounts are frozen:

Affect the flow of funds

Basically, the bank will not notify the head of the household to cancel the account in advance, and suddenly cancel the account, and it will not be able to get back the funds immediately for a period of time, which will greatly affect the cash flow.

Wind control and pipeline control

From the perspective of risk management and control, it is impossible for most foreign trade companies to investigate the background of new customers and the information of actual controllers like the risk control system of multinational groups, only to ensure that their business transactions are legal. In such a severe environment, encountering new business opportunities is also treading on thin ice, which will inevitably affect business development.

Damaged reputation

The banking system has a bad record of being closed, so it will be more difficult for the company to open an account or raise funds in other banks in Hong Kong in the future.

Which account operations are easy to be concerned about?

1. A foreign trade company whose main income is commission.

2. Accounts dealing with sensitive countries.

3. Unconventional remittance of large sums of money in bank accounts, especially lump sum deposits and withdrawals.

4. Banks will pay special attention to the frequent contact between corporate accounts and personal accounts, or the situation of collecting and paying on behalf of others or across industries.

How to avoid the account being blocked?

8 steps to maintain an account (applicable to all banks)

1. Log in to online banking frequently (at least 1-2 times a month).

2. More transactions within three months (at least 3-5 times).

3. Always keep a certain deposit in the account (at least 50,000 yuan or more).

4. Don't fast-forward and fast-forward (for example, 65,438+10,000 yuan will be recorded on the same day and transferred out on the same day or the next day).

5. Don't help others collect or settle foreign exchange.

6. Be careful not to accept payment from sensitive countries.

7. Always pay attention to whether there is any bank mail in the mailbox.

8. The company should conduct annual review and audit report on time to avoid being randomly selected by the bank.

Now banks in Hong Kong are becoming more and more cautious, and it is becoming more and more difficult to open an account. If conditions permit, customers are advised to open an extra standby account to avoid that the new account cannot be put in place in time because of bank account cancellation, and the company cannot receive payment during this period, which will cause great losses due to missed business opportunities.