Remit to China

[zirhk3355]

Hi, any Singaporeans here working in China? I can seek your advice what is the best way to remit/transfer money from Singapore to your own bank account in China?

Best way = lowest charges / fees + good ex rate + safe transfer.

For those who knows, short-term FDs are at >5%pa in China now, so heart itchy wana pull out my investments in SIN and bring over!

I heard about citigold's global banking and moneysend (mastercard), but just want to hear what options are out there.

For now, I only have POSB savings account, and using BOC in China.

Of course can open other banks' accounts if needed, hopefully not too much hassle as I am based in China and when I do go back to SIN it will only be for a few days...

Thanks for the advice!

 

[guowei]

Hi, any Singaporeans here working in China? I can seek your advice what is the best way to remit/transfer money from Singapore to your own bank account in China?

Best way = lowest charges / fees + good ex rate + safe transfer.

For those who knows, short-term FDs are at >5%pa in China now, so heart itchy wana pull out my investments in SIN and bring over!

I heard about citigold's global banking and moneysend (mastercard), but just want to hear what options are out there.

For now, I only have POSB savings account, and using BOC in China.

Of course can open other banks' accounts if needed, hopefully not too much hassle as I am based in China and when I do go back to SIN it will only be for a few days...

Thanks for the advice!

use taobao?

Tech Upstarts Paying 17 Times Interest Upset China Banks - Bloomberg

 

[zirhk3355]

use taobao?

Tech Upstarts Paying 17 Times Interest Upset China Banks - Bloomberg

You mean remit/transfer money using Taobao? I don't think it can be done...

For "investments" with taobao/alipay, its only open for Chinese citizens...and yes the returns are fantastic though always remember its a tech company and not a bank.

 

[Metrix]

Are you sure those are FD? 5 years RMB FD is only 4.75%. The higher rate ones are probably wealth management products that have risks. The banks are only selling to you as a middleman.

 

[zirhk3355]

Are you sure those are FD? 5 years RMB FD is only 4.75%. The higher rate ones are probably wealth management products that have risks. The banks are only selling to you as a middleman.

Yes I think you are right its wealth management products, but its only for short-term like 3 - 9 months...

Not sure about the risks though...

You mean 5-yr RMB FD is in China or in Sin?

 

[Metrix]

The FD is in China. You have to consider the foreign exchange risk and remit fees etc.

 

[zirhk3355]

The FD is in China. You have to consider the foreign exchange risk and remit fees etc.

Hi, thanks for your reply. I think there are some banks in China now giving higher FDs' rates, though maybe they are disguised licai products, I need to check more.

FX is an issue of course, but for now it looks like a good choice to keep more RMB! And my intention is short-term and must remain as liquid as possible. On this, I intend to maintain a SGD account in China, so I can convert funds first if I cannot trf it out of the country quickly enough. Not sure if this is legal or any other catch...

For remittance, well this is exactly what I am asking for advice here. Any for me?

 

[Shiny Things]

For those who knows, short-term FDs are at >5%pa in China now, so heart itchy wana pull out my investments in SIN and bring over!

Yeah, no, they're not. Chinese fixed deposit rates are capped by law. Anything that's paying 5% is probably a disguised wealth management product (even if they say it's a fixed deposit, or that it's guaranteed by the bank - it's not!), and those wealth management products and trust products are blowing up left right and centre as the underlying loans collapse.

Even Yu'e Bao, which isn't a fixed deposit but basically arbitrages the difference between interbank (uncapped) and retail (capped) deposit rates, is only paying 4.175% at the moment.

Whatever you do, don't go plowing your money into weird Chinese high-interest products. They're disgracefully opaque, and the yields are too low for the risk you're taking.