Opening a corporate bank account in China.

Opening a corporate bank account in China has always been fairly straightforward. However, regulatory compliance at Chinese banks is becoming increasingly strict, which is causing problems to foreign investors.

Chinese vs. foreign banks

Unlike in Hong Kong for example, the process of opening a bank account in the Chinese Mainland has does not require KYC (Know Your Client) and due diligence procedures. The big Chinese banks such as the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have always welcomed foreign-invested companies to open their bank accounts at their branches, with very limited KYC procedures in place to review the actual business of these companies. The whole account opening process for a new foreign-invested enterprise (WFOE) usually takes 3-4 weeks.