The international securities arm of Bank of China seems to be a fairly popular choice for online trading of Hong Kong stocks, but I haven’t had any feedback from users who’ve used the fairly extensive list of foreign markets it claims to deal by telephone.
Its website gives absolutely no indication of commission levels, simply saying “Commission rate will be determined and agreed between customer & BOCI Securities”. Some details of custody and other fees are given, but may be unreliable – the claimed custody fees for Malaysia and Thailand are incomprehensibly high.
Markets available
| Online trading | Hong Kong, USA |
| Telephone trading | Australia, Canada, China B, France, Germany - Frankfurt, Japan - Osaka, Japan - Tokyo, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UK |
Dealing commissions and charges
| Typical online | None stated |
| Online details | None stated |
| Typical telephone | None stated |
| Telephone details | None stated |
Other fees and charges
| Account fees and inactivity fees | None |
| Custody charges for stocks | Australia 0.02%/12 per month (min A$5), Japan US$5 per stock per month, Malaysia 0.005% per month (min US$150), Taiwan 0.1%/12 per month, Thailand, 0.07%/12 per month (min US$80), Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, UK, USA US$5 per stock per month |
| Dividend charges | Australia A$10, China B US$6.5/HK$50, Hong Kong 0.12% (min HK$20, max HK$10,000), Singapore 0.125% (min S$110, max S$100), Taiwan 0.6% (min NT$800), Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, UK, USA US$2 |
| Corporate action charges | Australia bonus/scrip issue A$15, other A$70; China B bonus issue US$2.5/HK$20; Japan bonus issue US$2, other US$20; Taiwan NT$800; Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, UK, USA bonus/scrip US$2, other US$20 |
Currencies
| Currency conversion charges | Not stated |
| Hold cash in foreign currencies | No |
| Currencies allowed | HKD/USD |
Other details
| Tax-advantaged accounts | None |
| Other products and services | Bonds, funds, futures, options |
| Minimum account size | None |
| Company location | Hong Kong |
| Further information | Go to the BOCI Securities website |