Odaily Planet Daily reports that HSBC Hong Kong has recently begun notifying certain mainland China existing investment clients to submit the "Declaration for Opening/Maintaining an Account" via the HSBC Hong Kong app by September 12, along with updating their contact information. The declaration requires confirmation that investment funds originate from legitimate sources outside mainland China and acknowledges that the bank may disclose personal information upon request by law enforcement or regulatory authorities. The notice also states that failure to submit the declaration by August 20 may result in suspension of investment-related services, and failure to submit by September 12 may lead to termination of such services.
In response, a HSBC Hong Kong spokesperson told Yicai Global: “When managing investment client relationships, we comply with relevant regulatory requirements. Therefore, we are inviting relevant mainland Chinese investors to provide self-declarations confirming that the information they provided under ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) and customer due diligence is up-to-date and valid. This helps us continue to provide uninterrupted service to our clients. This latest declaration requirement applies only to our investment services clients.” Yicai Global learned that in May this year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued guidelines titled “Monitoring Measures to Be Taken When Opening Investment Accounts and Maintaining Client Relationships,” which include “additional measures required when opening and managing investment accounts for mainland investors,” specifically covering measures such as “closing investment accounts opened using suspicious or forged documents,” “closing dormant investment accounts with zero balances,” and “opening new investment accounts.” (Yicai Global)