Offshore Bank Account for Singapore-Based Companies
Due to strict banking regulations set by Singapore offshore banking center authorities Singapore banks require physical presence of the authorized signatories to open banking account for Singapore-based companies. However as an exception some banks open bank accounts without actual presence in case necessary signatures are witnessed by public notary.
The minimum required balance for the account varies from one Singapore bank to another. Average initial amount is $10,000 for the major Singapore-based banks (OCBC, DBS, UOB and Standard Chartered), while foreign banks, such as HSBC and Citibank have $25,000-50,000 balance. However banks often waive this requirement for certain period of time fully or partially. For instance, OCBC bank reduced this requirement for first six months after opening an account to $500. In case minimum requirement is not met the account is subject to $15-50 charges.
Offshore Bank Account for Offshore Companies
The procedure for opening an account at Singapore banks by offshore companies is largely the same as for Singapore-based companies except that banks are required to conduct further research over the potential client before an account is opened. Typical questions asked are the following:
- type of business activity a customer plans to engage;
- source of initial funds for the business;
- forecasted annual turnover;
- forecated volume of transactions;
- list of beneficiaries and their background;
- reference letters from the banks services of which client has used;
- documents proving beneficial ownership;
Decision over approving or not approving offshore banking account is made on each case individually.
Here find largest offshore banks in Singapore (find a full list here):
- Citibank
- HSBC
- Standard Chartered Bank
- OCBC Bank
-UOB Bank
-DBS Bank
-ABN-AMRO
Comments on this entry are closed.