My company has offered to split my salary and send the bulk to either HK or USA. If I have it sent directly to the USA, the first $91,500 is tax free. If I have it sent to HK, it is entirely tax free.

My question is: I have a great bank in the USA that has zero fees for using ATMs worldwide and zero fees for charging on visa (and using the debit part of the check card). Also, the minimum balance is only $5,000.

If I open an account in HK, say HSBC, are there fees associated with using my cards worldwide? Is there a minimum balance? Is there a better bank in HK to use for my needs? Do I need to go to HK to set up the account?

Thanks.

If you're a US citizen, even if you deposit the salary to HK you still only have the first $93k exempt from US taxation.

Some banks here will help you setup an account in HK. HSBC is one of them, but not sure if its a Premier service or not.

Obama will find a way to take your money from you. Your better off keeping an RMB account at HSBC or in China. The dollar vs RMB is going to drop like a rock, don't get paid in USD, that's the old currency of the world. RMB is now king just ask any global banker or businessman who use to deal in dollars. You also need to determine your state taxes and if your from California Jerry Brown will tax you on every dollar you make and does not give you any kind of federal exclusion. Keep your money in China or HK and hide it. Keep in mind though China will only let you take out of China $50k USD per year so its best to go deposit money in HK every now and then

The banking system in Hong Kong is characterized by its 3-tier system, which is composed of 3 types of financial institutions, namely licensed banks, restricted license banks and deposit-taking companies, which is authorized to accept deposits from the general public. 3-layer deposit-taking institutions operating in different limits. Only licensed banks and restricted licensed banks can be called banks.

Before you do something reckless, you might want have a look at this :

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-0 ... robes.html

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=hs ... =&aql=&oq=

Of course, HSBC is the biggest bank and an easy target... but most other banks will follow.
Don't forget that to clear US$, every Asian bank had to go through a US bank

Good luck

Thanks for the info.