Hong Kong Monetary Authority: Three new regulatory measures for investment accounts of mainland investors, with account opening verification retroactive to January 2023

According to a report by the Financial Associated Press, in response to the issue of "some banks in the Hong Kong region requiring a declaration to open investment accounts," the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) responded today that the relevant regulatory requirements were issued to all recognized institutions on May 22.

Materials provided by the HKMA indicate that registered institutions must take three additional measures when opening and managing investment accounts for mainland investors, including:

1. Closing investment accounts opened using suspicious or forged documents, identifying customer investment accounts that have used suspicious or forged documents since January 2023 or during any other period specified by the HKMA; relevant documents include identification documents.

2. Closing investment accounts with zero balance that have been inactive, specifically referring to investment accounts held by mainland investors that have had no asset balance as of May 22, 2026 (reference date), and have had no activity initiated by the customer in the 12 months prior to the reference date.

3. When opening new investment accounts, obtaining a written declaration from the mainland investor confirming that all funds used to support investment activities and related settlements come from legal sources outside mainland China.

Relevant documents show that the newly added additional regulatory measures apply only to investment accounts, including investment accounts within comprehensive bank accounts; non-investment functions (such as regular savings, time deposits, payments, loans, and credit cards) are not within the scope of these measures. Additionally, the applicable subjects of these additional measures are individual customers and do not apply to corporate or institutional clients.

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