Comments on: Five reasons you should consider China as a place to live and do business

By: Frank Bradley

Frank Bradley — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:46:10 +0000

I was planning to sign up in your new high level investment club ut I signed up for your daily letter first, The other registration form got wiped out in the process an I cant find it. Can you send it o me agaain.

By: Roy

Roy — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:33:40 +0000

working for a Chinese company has some pitfalls. First and foremost, they may promise an apartment as part of the package. Make sure that pre approval by personal inspection is a #1 prerequisite for accepting the job. Otherwise they will stick you in a 30 M2 dump with leaking sewage from the floor above, no heat, no A/C.

Second, Chinese lie, well perhaps distort, or misdirect is a better word. They leave everything out of a contract on purpose, make sure you don’t. There is a standard phrase at the end of most Chinese real estate contracts ” The seller always has the right to decide what is correct in this contract”

Your pay is usually deposited in your bank account every month and you will never see an income statement unless you ask for it. Often the company will pay part of your pay out of the cash account so they don’t have to pay taxes on it. This is ok for you too, until you try to send it home. You can only export the amount of money you have paid taxes on and have a tax invoice for.

Be ready at any time to pull your money out of the bank and leave the country without saying goodby to anyone.

By: Roy

Roy — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:21:32 +0000

Opening a bank acct. is very easy but foreigners must have a passport as identification. One odd thing though, when you sign a withdrawal slip, you actually print your name exactly as it appears on the slip. This is usually the full name as it appears on your passport. The Chinese do not use signatures as such, they use a printed name in Chinese characters and then stamp it with a ” chop” , or a seal, always with red ink. Without this chop, it is not a legal receipt.

Taking money OUT of China a a problem. If you have paid taxes on it and have an official receipt for those taxes, then you can apply to the foreign currency control bureau for a permit to send it out of China.
This takes weeks to months depending on whether or not you or your accountant has a “relationship” with a member of the bureau.
Only the amount you have paid taxes on can be experted and it must go to an account with your name on it. You can do this ONCE per year. You can also export $20K per year if you get to know a banker really well but this is an under the table deal.

The alternative is to carry it out in cash but if they catch you at security with the money, you have to leave it in China!!

So once it is in China, it stays!

By: RL

RL — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:00:59 +0000

Simon,

Is it really that easy for a foreigner to open up a bank account in China? For privacy-minded individuals, what is the minimum identification required (for a modest sum of money – under $20,000 or so)? Are there any reputable banks at which you can do this online, or do all require physical presence? How hard is it to get the money back out of China?

By: alfonso landa

alfonso landa — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:21:05 +0000

Dear Simon

yes i am interested in obtaining diplomatic credentials. Please contact me re this.

By: Cerberus

Cerberus — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:52:36 +0000

Any thoughts on how one might go about finding a good company in China to work for? I have given thought to moving there for a while now, given the current condition of our economy, but I have no idea where to start. Other than learning Chinese, of course.