Hi Andy,
I find the same annoyance as you and decided to move to Hong Kong few years ago.
In fact, I’d encourage you to open account directly in Hong Kong for your next trip. It takes less than a day to get everything done if the necessary documents are submitted.
- Wanted to check if Singaporeans are open a brokerage account in HK directly to invest in HK stocks? Yes, you can. You’d need to open a local bank account in Hong Kong first (i.e. HSBC).
- What documents are needed? The documents to open a bank account are proof of address (i.e. singtel bill) and your passport. Open a multi-currency account with toggle (this will save you a lot of troubles). Please bring along your IRAS statement too (in case, they want verify your income). Once the bank account is opened, you can head to local brokerage (i.e. Chief Securities) to open brokerage account. The whole process was easy for me and it should the same for you.
- Are there any counterparty risks which we should be mindful of? Since it’d be held under custodian, this shouldn’t be the case as the law states that the broker can’t use your money and there is also a guarantee sum by local authority which I can’t remember the amount.
- Any brokers to suggest? I’m using Chief Securities. The rate is very competitive :)