How to buy US stocks and ETFs from Hong Kong

This page lists the investment platforms whose own pages say they accept residents of Hong Kong, with their licences, fees and the deposit methods available here. We only count platforms that publish a list of the countries they accept: a company that does not say whom it accepts is left out, even if it might open an account for you. Being on the list is not a recommendation.

Some verified points for Hong Kong:

• Interactive Brokers names Hong Kong on its list of available countries and territories. One of its companies, Interactive Brokers Hong Kong Limited, is regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), according to IBKR’s site, which gives no licence number for it. Its pages do not say which of its companies opens accounts for residents of Hong Kong, so check the company named in your client agreement. IBKR charges no fee for bank transfer deposits (your bank may), and after two free withdrawals a calendar month it charges a fee per withdrawal.
• Saxo names Hong Kong among the countries on its account opening form. Its pages say client agreements are made with “the relevant Saxo entity based on your country of residence”, but not which company that is for Hong Kong. Saxo says it does not charge deposit or withdrawal fees, though payment intermediaries may.
• The SFC’s public register lists “all licensees (ie, both licensed individuals and licensed corporations) and registered institutions under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO)” and can be searched by name or CE number. Its Alert List names entities that “are unlicensed in Hong Kong and are believed to be, or to have been, targeting Hong Kong investors”; the SFC adds that it “is not a comprehensive list”.

The Investor Compensation Fund is run by the Investor Compensation Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SFC. It pays investors of any nationality who lose money when a licensed intermediary or authorized financial institution defaults “in relation to exchange-traded products in Hong Kong”; for defaults since 1 January 2020 it also covers Shanghai and Shenzhen securities traded through the northbound link of Stock Connect. For securities, “the amount of compensation payable to you will not exceed HK$500,000”, and the limit is per investor per default. The fund does not cover losses from other causes, such as a listed company being wound up.

For US shares, the platform will ask you for Form W-8BEN. The IRS says most US-source income of a foreign person, dividends included, is taxed at 30% through a withholding tax unless a tax treaty or the tax code sets a lower rate. Hong Kong was not on the IRS list of US income tax treaties when we checked. Your own tax rules may apply to the same dividend too, so ask the tax authority or a qualified tax adviser. No investor compensation scheme pays for falling prices.