Money term deposits in Singapore or HK?

[lemoncake]

Not sure if its the correct section of the forum, but does anyone have experience or knowledge about term bank deposits in Singapore or HK?

Basically, i have a few hundred thousand dollars, which i want to term deposit in a somewhat safe location,

I want to keep it in the currency it is in, which is AU$, so a foreign currency account. Like to have internet access to it and receive a decent interest with low tax.

By decent interest, i mean more than 0% as some banks offer, I know Thai banks offer 3.45 for AU$, but do not feel safe keeping all the money in Thai Bank.

Did some research, but could not really find much info about banks in Singapore or HK, which match the criteria.

So.... anyone with personal experience or recommendation?

[lemoncake]

None has any experience with banks in HK or Singapore?

[Henry14th]

Singapore deposit accounts offer next to 0% interest. I'd suggest that you open an account at one of the main banks and then open an investment account to get the money working. There are plenty of funds to go at that will best suit your needs, just speak to your account manager.

One thing I have noticed with funds from my bank in Singapore is that the principle fees are quite high (4%-5% of invested amount), however annual management fees are usually around the 0.75-1% mark.

No idea about Hong Kong i'm afraid.

Good luck

[lemoncake]

Singapore deposit accounts offer next to 0% interest. I'd suggest that you open an account at one of the main banks and then open an investment account to get the money working. There are plenty of funds to go at that will best suit your needs, just speak to your account manager.

One thing I have noticed with funds from my bank in Singapore is that the principle fees are quite high (4%-5% of invested amount), however annual management fees are usually around the 0.75-1% mark.

No idea about Hong Kong i'm afraid.

Good luck

Thanks for that, in my research i found AU$ to get around 3% interest in Singapore banks and HK banks as well as Thailand banks.

With Singapore banks, its not clear what fees or conditions or fees apply,

[Halfaboy]

Not a serious answer, but this site may give food for thoughts. Link: http://asia.deposits.org/

It gives an overview of the highest yield bank deposit Accounts in Asia.

(but I'm sure you will get a better answer).

[lemoncake]

Not a serious answer, but this site may give food for thoughts. Link: http://asia.deposits.org/

It gives an overview of the highest yield bank deposit Accounts in Asia.

(but I'm sure you will get a better answer).

Thanks for that. It does give a great overview, the only downside is i wanted to keep it in AU$

[SheungWan]

OK, this is how it actually works.

You go to HK and open a bank account say with HSBC.

Which branch doesn't matter but if you want to do it at the airport then Terminal 1 for Premier and Terminal 2 for other accounts.

You can deposit AU$ directly into your foreign deposit account and the bank will offer you an interest rate on term deposits related to that currency.

If you want to deposit all of your funds in one go there is a 0.25% charge, but this charge is waived if you deposit amounts up to a maximum figure on a daily basis. The waiver applies to both the Premier and Advance accounts, but higher for the Premier which will also offer you a slightly higher deposit rate.

[lemoncake]

OK, this is how it actually works.

You go to HK and open a bank account say with HSBC.

Which branch doesn't matter but if you want to do it at the airport then Terminal 1 for Premier and Terminal 2 for other accounts.

You can deposit AU$ directly into your foreign deposit account and the bank will offer you an interest rate on term deposits related to that currency.

If you want to deposit all of your funds in one go there is a 0.25% charge, but this charge is waived if you deposit amounts up to a maximum figure on a daily basis. The waiver applies to both the Premier and Advance accounts, but higher for the Premier which will also offer you a slightly higher deposit rate.

Thanks for that, i am pretty well informed in how to open accounts

The question is which banks do foreign currency accounts? which banks pay decent interest and are suitable for non resident of that country?

Also which banks are good for this kind of thing from personal experience?

HSBC offers 0% according to their website

[SheungWan]

Mostly all of them do foreign currency accounts. The interest rates are variable and sometimes they have special offers depending on which currency they are promoting. Once you have an account, whether you hold HK ID or not doesn't matter unless it relates to RMD.

[Naam]

None has any experience with banks in HK or Singapore?

your question is missing what is most important, namely length of term deposit.

[lemoncake]

None has any experience with banks in HK or Singapore?

your question is missing what is most important, namely length of term deposit.

I am flexible in this regard, which ever term offers best interest. This is back up/retirement money, so only want to put it somewhere where it earns interest

[paddyjenkins]

None has any experience with banks in HK or Singapore?

your question is missing what is most important, namely length of term deposit.

i can assure you that to get anything that looks halfway decent compared to zero in singapore dollars the term will have to be 30 years...but if you do that you will spend about 29 of those 30 years in regret.

[Naam]

Singapore deposit accounts offer next to 0% interest. I'd suggest that you open an account at one of the main banks and then open an investment account to get the money working. There are plenty of funds to go at that will best suit your needs, just speak to your account manager.

One thing I have noticed with funds from my bank in Singapore is that the principle fees are quite high (4%-5% of invested amount), however annual management fees are usually around the 0.75-1% mark.

No idea about Hong Kong i'm afraid.

Good luck

abso-<deleted>-lute rubbish and misleading information!

a dozen of my friends and my[not so]humble self are banking since more than 15 years in Singpore with different arrogant high and mighty Swiss multinational banks who are usually charging much higher fees than the local bread-and-butter banks.

there are no management fees and definitely no "principle" fees of 4-5% neither for any portfolio structure nor for any term deposits.

mangement fees of 1.00-1.5% are charged when financial ignorants ask the banKsters to manage their money in order to achieve "phantastic" yields of

0-3% p.a. i some cases causing even a loss.

overview: (depending on bank, portfolio size and trading volume)

custodial fees for portfolios containing shares, bonds, ETFs.........0.10-0.35%

trading fees shares.......................................................................0.50-1.00%

trading fees bonds.........................................................................0.15-0.50%

trading fees ETFs..........................................................................0.35-0.50%

fees for cash and/or term deposits (any currency).........................0.00-0.00%

banks i referred to: UBS, Crédit Suisse, Julius Baer, EFG, Deutsche Bank.

note: above-mentioned banks are not interested in clients who are planning to hold term deposits, moreover their entry points are USD 3-5mm.

for the "several hundred thousand Dollars term deposit" the OP mentioned he should contact UOB, DBS, OCBC, ICICI, Citi, BoC.

[paddyjenkins]

come to think about it, i seem to remember cimb account singapore gives 1% or so on sgd, not even term deposit which for standard terms of less than a year aren't worth bothering with as there is almost no difference. these days i suppose 1% is better than a kick in the teeth.

[ongchart]

This is a screen shot of the OCBC foreign currency fixed deposit. 3.3% interest for 12 months deposit. Of course that means no withdrawal during that tenure.

[alfieconn]

Might be a stupid question but cant you put it in an Aussie bank ?

[paddyjenkins]

Might be a stupid question but cant you put it in an Aussie bank ?

well, i suppose, yes, it is and yes you could. i think we need a little financial education here. first, its more about the currency than the bank. different currencies generally have different rates. the difference the bank makes is generally the credit spread, so a risky bank pays more than a safer bank. if its just the highest rates you want, then why not go to the ukraine, or perhaps egypt, or i imagine robert mugabe would be able to advise on the best term deposits in zimabwean dollars....300% or so?

Edited December 15, 2013 by paddyjenkins

[lemoncake]

Might be a stupid question but cant you put it in an Aussie bank ?

I have my reasons why i do not want to keep the money in Australia

[Naam]

This is a screen shot of the OCBC foreign currency fixed deposit. 3.3% interest for 12 months deposit. Of course that means no withdrawal during that tenure. ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1387078095.744856.jpg

withdrawals are possible with a pro rata reduction of interest rate.

[ongchart]

This is a screen shot of the OCBC foreign currency fixed deposit. 3.3% interest for 12 months deposit. Of course that means no withdrawal during that tenure. ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect Thailand1387078095.744856.jpg

withdrawals are possible with a pro rata reduction of interest rate.

I don't have the details of each type of deposit so I guess the best thing to do is contact a few of these Singapore banks to check. DBS has something known as Treasures, and OCBC has a subsidiary Bank of Singapore for wealth management services (private banking for high net worth individuals). Citibank and HSBS have their private banking arms too.

Singapore, despite its image of a highly controlled envirnment, on the other hand has a fairly liberal currency funds transfer regime. That is the reason, other than the relatively secure environment, many wealthy foreigners set up base there. Once everything is set up, moving funds in and out of the account is relatively hassle free.

[Naam]

moving funds in and out of the account is relatively hassle free

why "relatively" hassle free? it is totally hassle free. you instruct your bank "transfer x-amount of y-currency to z-bank account" and it will be done. what exists with most banks are so-called "cut off times" meaning if different hourly thresholds for different currencies have lapsed the transfer will be done the next day. as simple as that.

if you transfer money to an account which is not in your name, the compliance department might ask for a simple explanation "why" to comply with the M.A.S. (Monetary Authority of Singapore) standards concerning money laundering and terrorist financing. this can happen randomly and does not depend on the amount transferred. a short reference when giving the transfer instructions will suffice to avoid these kind of compliance questions.

worthwhile to mention is that some (very few) banks or brokers will not allow transfers to third parties, e.g. you can't pay the rent for your condo or home directly to your landlord in Thailand.

[SheungWan]

None has any experience with banks in HK or Singapore?

your question is missing what is most important, namely length of term deposit.

i can assure you that to get anything that looks halfway decent compared to zero in singapore dollars the term will have to be 30 years...but if you do that you will spend about 29 of those 30 years in regret.

come to think about it, i seem to remember cimb account singapore gives 1% or so on sgd, not even term deposit which for standard terms of less than a year aren't worth bothering with as there is almost no difference. these days i suppose 1% is better than a kick in the teeth.

I believe the OP was targeting depositing AUD not depositing SGD.

However, holding liquid funds in either HKD or SGD is not for the purpose of chasing interest rates, but rather a longer term commitment to holding assets in those currencies. When THB together with THB interest rates were strong, the combination seemed irresistible, but now less so.