Offshore company formation and bank account opening advice

[Jajazazajaja]

Dear all

can anyone point me to an offshore company expert?

 

I am living in Thailand and setting up a company in Singapore or Hong Kong to pick up some consultancy jobs I’m doing. Setting up the company seems straightforward, but I can’t open a bank account there remotely and obviously can’t visit either location right now.
 

what options do I have?

 

grateful to anyone who can point me to an expert on such matters 

[Liverpool Lou]

8 minutes ago, Jajazazajaja said:

I am living in Thailand and setting up a company in Singapore or Hong Kong to pick up some consultancy jobs I’m doing. Setting up the company seems straightforward, but I can’t open a bank account there remotely and obviously can’t visit either location right now.
 

what options do I have?

It's just about impossible to open corporate bank accounts in those jurisdictions without being there in person for a pre-incorporated business unless you're paying a local agent to do it.   That would mean they'd want to organise the company incorporations also, and charge you for it, but Google will help you with that.

[ChaiyaTH]

Aside of the fact that your timing for Hong Kong is terrible, banks won't be easy there too. You would most likely only get a personal account for the first years and they will also want to see a deposit of like 10,000 hong kong dollars, need a local address etc.

 

For Singapore you might be able to open one of these 'digital new banks' like you can find worldwide but for a proper one that also requires a visit in person, like most banks (specially biz accounts) or otherwise via another country instead, then you might be able open via notary or embassy.

That is the reason most people do not have a company and bank account there, it isn't exactly considered offshore from this perspective either but that is another subject.

Edited May 26, 2021 by ChaiyaTH

[Jajazazajaja]

Thanks guys, I’m really in a bind here. I need some way of getting paid for the work I’m doing and can’t open an account back in the UK.

 

 

i guess opening a business account here in Thailand is out of the question?

 

any advice I can get on getting a company up and running and getting bank account would be so greatly appreciated 

[Jajazazajaja]

Would transferwise be an option for me?

 

wise.com

 

sorry, I’m out of my depth here 

[ChaiyaTH]

Just now, Jajazazajaja said:

Would transferwise be an option for me?

 

wise.com

 

sorry, I’m out of my depth here 

 

What do you specifically need and want to do? Send me a PM and i'll answer free.

[nightfox]

Why don't you look online for companies that set up offshore company and bank account packages. Its very easy to set up and you don't have go anywhere. I opened a Seychelles company and bank account in Cyprus for 1,000 euros couple years ago. Multi currency account comes with online banking and atm  cirrus card.

Edited May 26, 2021 by nightfox

[blackcab]

22 minutes ago, Jajazazajaja said:

i guess opening a business account here in Thailand is out of the question?

 

You will only be able to open a business bank account if you have a Thai limited company. You need to provide proof of incorporation to the bank during the account opening process.

[Jajazazajaja]

13 minutes ago, nightfox said:

Why don't you look online for companies that set up offshore company and bank account packages. Its very easy to set up and you don't have go anywhere. I opened a Seychelles company and bank account in Cyprus for 1,000 euros couple years ago. Multi currency account comes with online banking and atm  cirrus card.

thanks, that’s all changed now, unfortunately. Seems like all this needs to be done in person now

[timendres]

There are several companies that provide this as a service for a reasonable fee. Here is just one example (not endorsing this outfit, as I know nothing about them, they are just an example):

https://www.corporateservices.com/singapore/incorporation-package-for-foreigners/

 

[Jajazazajaja]

29 minutes ago, timendres said:

There are several companies that provide this as a service for a reasonable fee. Here is just one example (not endorsing this outfit, as I know nothing about them, they are just an example):

https://www.corporateservices.com/singapore/incorporation-package-for-foreigners/

 

 

thanks, the digital banking looks very doable 

[anderska]

Hong Kong company + currenxie.com works, in a pinch, previously CIM Bank was a good match for a Hong Kong ltd, but not so anymore ( depending on volume of cash though)

[GrandPapillon]

actually Transferwise will create a business offshore account for you with IBAN etc... but they will ask for a ton of paperwork

[kynikoi]

veem.com

 

Friend recommended for money transfer.

[Jajazazajaja]

16 minutes ago, GrandPapillon said:

actually Transferwise will create a business offshore account for you with IBAN etc... but they will ask for a ton of paperwork

What will they ask for? 
I’ll have the ARCA from Singapore registration, my bank statement from Thailand 

[GrandPapillon]

9 hours ago, Jajazazajaja said:

What will they ask for? 
I’ll have the ARCA from Singapore registration, my bank statement from Thailand 

the usual paperwork, financial statements for the offshore company, the registrar of shareholders in the company, a letter from a law firm or an accountant saying that you are not a "dodgy" character ???? etc... etc... I have that list somewhere, let me pull it for you

 

actually Transferwise requirements were kind of "light" compared to other banks, so I suspect they will ask for more paperwork as the bank account is open. You will need to fill out the FACTA thing and the equivalent European thing about the true "business" structure of the company. FACTA might be an issue if you have US customers, then the paperwork is going to be more complex as you have to report your US customers if they have significant impact on your financial statements.

[GrandPapillon]

The US Treasury is now "criminalizing" holders of USD, that is by default, they assume you receive USD from US residents and you need to declare if it is the case or not the case. A bit silly, but no choice.

 

Most banks in EU (BNP PARIBAS, SocGen etc...) ask of you to fill out the FACTA form even if your account has only EUROs and never had any US customers. It's the new default.

 

Almost 100 US Treasury department officials are now residing in Europe in the HQ of SocGen, BNP PARIBAS and are checking every transactions those banks are having with their customers, in particular corporate customers for AML.

[Jajazazajaja]

2 hours ago, GrandPapillon said:

The US Treasury is now "criminalizing" holders of USD, that is by default, they assume you receive USD from US residents and you need to declare if it is the case or not the case. A bit silly, but no choice.

 

Most banks in EU (BNP PARIBAS, SocGen etc...) ask of you to fill out the FACTA form even if your account has only EUROs and never had any US customers. It's the new default.

 

Almost 100 US Treasury department officials are now residing in Europe in the HQ of SocGen, BNP PARIBAS and are checking every transactions those banks are having with their customers, in particular corporate customers for AML.

 

thanks for the feedback, luckily I have no US customers. In fact I’ll only have one (Singapore), who will be paying me on a monthly basis in USD.

 

 

[GrandPapillon]

10 hours ago, Jajazazajaja said:

 

thanks for the feedback, luckily I have no US customers. In fact I’ll only have one (Singapore), who will be paying me on a monthly basis in USD.

 

 

maybe getting paid in SGD might actually be better if I were you, stronger currency and maybe easier to open a business SGD account

[GrandPapillon]

here are Transferwise requirements for a business account ????

 

Could you send over:

• a certificate of business incorporation
• any official business documents that confirm your company's registered address, the current directors/managers and the shareholders/owners. This could be a copy of the memorandum/articles of association, certificate of good standing/incumbency, list of registered directors and shareholders/members/owners.
• the full names, date of birth and country of residence for all people listed as shareholders and directors
• your residential address proof for Thailand, this can be a recent utility bill or bank statement

Once you've got the documents, securely upload them

Can you also reply to this email with the following information?

• A detailed description of your business activities and the services it provides

• Your business website or other online presence. If you don't have one, let us know how you engage with your customers.

 

• A copy of an operating license. If a license isn't needed, please let us know why.

• A short description about how your business will use Wise in the future, including:

  • expected senders and/or recipients
  • expected reason for payments
  • expected monthly volumes
  • expected currency routes

 

• Please let us know the full address where your business is physically operating from. This isn't the registered address - we need the address where any daily operational/management activities happen

[jumbo]

Quote

If you have the company opened up in HK go to https://www.statrys.com/ and open your off shore bank account

 

 

[Jajazazajaja]

59 minutes ago, GrandPapillon said:

here are Transferwise requirements for a business account ????

 

Could you send over:

• a certificate of business incorporation
• any official business documents that confirm your company's registered address, the current directors/managers and the shareholders/owners. This could be a copy of the memorandum/articles of association, certificate of good standing/incumbency, list of registered directors and shareholders/members/owners.
• the full names, date of birth and country of residence for all people listed as shareholders and directors
• your residential address proof for Thailand, this can be a recent utility bill or bank statement

Once you've got the documents, securely upload them

Can you also reply to this email with the following information?

• A detailed description of your business activities and the services it provides

• Your business website or other online presence. If you don't have one, let us know how you engage with your customers.

 

• A copy of an operating license. If a license isn't needed, please let us know why.

• A short description about how your business will use Wise in the future, including:

  • expected senders and/or recipients
  • expected reason for payments
  • expected monthly volumes
  • expected currency routes

 

• Please let us know the full address where your business is physically operating from. This isn't the registered address - we need the address where any daily operational/management activities happen

thanks, that all seems quite achievable.

 

I guess the business address will be my home address rather than the law office in Singapore where it’s registered?