For stock/mutual fund investments (and not real estate) and ignoring the "off-shore" options, if you are earning in RMB, do you:

1. transfer RMB to your home currency and invest in your home country's stocks & funds?

2. or do you invest in the China stock market directly without converting RMB?

I transfer to HK (not my home country) and then invest from their in mutual funds, gold, stocks etc. I don't think foreigners can invest in the stock market directly in China.

I'm from the UK but it's hard to deal online with the UK banks and far less options than HK (HSBC).

All my money goes to HK initially, and from there I invest worldwide in a combination of real estate, mutual funds based on the stock markets, and commodities.

If I'd invest in China it would be to short some of their stock.

Chinese companies stock listed abroad are great for shorting as exemplified by onp, ccme, dgw, snoff and a range of other let's-deceive-them-because-we-are-cool-like-sun-tzu-and-he-said-we-should-lie-n-nshit chinese scammy companies.

hi guys...a number of u seem to keep a big portion of ur dough in HKD. I'm curious as to why...I mean I know HK has very favorable tax laws when it comes to capital gains and wat not, but HKD is pegged to USD man....and i'd stay clear of USD (and pegged currencies) if I can....

I sticking with RMB and some safe bond/money market investments locally for now. There's no where to go but up comparing RMB to most other currencies (especially USD). Thinking about some money in SGD cuz thats pretty stable and the economy is booming and similar favorable laws as HK.

hc_vodka wrote:hi guys...a number of u seem to keep a big portion of ur dough in HKD. I'm curious as to why...I mean I know HK has very favorable tax laws when it comes to capital gains and wat not, but HKD is pegged to USD man....and i'd stay clear of USD (and pegged currencies) if I can....

I sticking with RMB and some safe bond/money market investments locally for now. There's no where to go but up comparing RMB to most other currencies (especially USD). Thinking about some money in SGD cuz thats pretty stable and the economy is booming and similar favorable laws as HK.

Yes, but a lot of my money in HK is in RMB. I also have an RMB denominated mutual fund. The difference is it is already "outside" China so I can move it easily if I need to. It's just sort of like a hub for me.

I think the dichotomy of China and home is false. You can use other locations and for most expats, they should. Hong Kong is good. Singapore good too. Luxembourg also. I keep money in Hong Kong, but not much in HKD.

I'd try an online brokerage account for shares like http://www.internaxx.lu/ in Luxembourg
or Interactive Brokers in Hong Kong http://www.interactivebrokers.com.hk/en/main.php

Both are tax free and give you global access to markets. If you need a manager, I'd find someone who works on a fee basis and uses a platform similar to above, that gives you access to your money - there is no reason to lock it up. There are a couple around if you scour these threads.

Interesting responses.

What's the advantage of investing in Hong Kong? I can get access to foreign markets through my large US mutual funds -- looking for ideas if there is better access, or FX fees too high for converting from RMB to USD. Thanks.

One big adavantage is that you can keep your trading income out of the reach of any taxes at home.

Brun0 wrote:If I'd invest in China it would be to short some of their stock.

Chinese companies stock listed abroad are great for shorting as exemplified by onp, ccme, dgw, snoff and a range of other let's-deceive-them-because-we-are-cool-like-sun-tzu-and-he-said-we-should-lie-n-nshit chinese scammy companies.

Yeah, like these guys did

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/ ... ews&rpc=71

My Mrs is the CFO... I just deliver, shut it and comply...

Even if you wanted to invest in China, what options would you have, aside from real estate properties? I looked around, there just weren't too many investment products for foreigners. There are more for the locals. But I sat in with my wife when she was talking to "financial advisers" of several banks when she was looking for some investment ideas, and they were pushing all kinds of life insurances and mutual funds on her. To be honest with you, these "financial advisers" didn't know the first thing about investment, (or they just ignored it for their own benefits.) Maybe that's why every Chinese is putting every penny they have into the only investment they know (and blinding trust): the housing market.