Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

My FD rate is 3.9% with HSBC and I am a Premier customer.

I questioned the rate this year and was informed the FD is annually auto renewed and the rate is determined by the offer rate at the time of renewal.

You are correct, after you decide which bank you are lodging your FD with you are stuck as you cannot then cherry pick rates and move your money as you wish.

I am informed this use to be the situation but I guess the banks have effective lobby representation.

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

Interesting, as the official HSBC 12 month rate was 2.9%, and 3.15% from 1st feb 2018. When did you last renew it?

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

Yes Stepen I fell victim to this as my renewal was late January.

I did not even receive any email or communication notice as well, I guess when they have you locked in then they feel no need.

I had advice from other forum members (before I lodged) that local banks offer better FD rates than HSBC but due to circumstances my decision was based more on access to HSBC Global transfer service so I cannot grumble too much.

It just seems iniquitous to restrict competition in a private sector.

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

But the official rate is 2.9%, and you got 3.9% ?

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

:eek: Sorry Stepen (and all) if that got anyone excited I meant 2.9% I am not that fortunate.

Some posts recently mentioned rates being available at 4.15% but I am stuck at the 2.9%.

Apologies for the confusion.

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

I have never heard of a HSBC promotion FD rate of 3,9 for any customer, not to talk about a locked MM2H FD. You can feel very lucky. If you have the 300k FD, that is a profit of RM 3000 per year compared to other HSBC customers. Enjoy your 1000 extra Laksas this year at the night market.

Edit: Sorry, the 1000 Laksas are canceled ;)

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

eCdD unfortunately the night market will have to struggle on without my meager contribution. :blink:

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

I am reminded of colleagues working in the Middle East who spent hours comparing exchange rates and transfer charges. Did they end up any better off than those of who just transferred our money on payday ?

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

Ask your collegues! I am better off with thousands of Euros (not MYR!) every year by comparing and transfer my money wisely and not just set up a stupid bank transfer that costs you up to 5% instead of 0,5%.

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

Thanks to RedApe for suggesting ScotiaBank. But this won't work for me, as I do not have a ScotiaBank account, plus I am not in Canada, and one needs to be at the branch in order to open a new account. Also, Canadian banks have traditionally offered poor exchange rates.

As for carrying 40k USD cash or more into Malaysia as suggested by WiredTight, has anybody actually done that? I have ruled this out previously, as I deem it highly risky, with the possiblity of theft, accidental loss or some small chance of confiscation? In my case, my travel into Malaysia will transit via 3 countries: USA, China(stopover), then Malaysia, and requires navigating the customs/immigration/security areas of those 3 jurisdictions. What if one of them does not believe my explanation of carrying such a large sum of money, and confiscate the cash on suspicion of money laundering.

As for my final decision as to which way to go, I was hoping for some real numbers to guide early decision while outside Malaysia, not just adjectives such as better or worse etc. In any case, I do not need to make the decision until I landed in KL. I will get those numbers then plus find out from CIMB their policies. After plugging in the real numbers and making simple calculations, the decison will be made for me based on the facts. This deliberation is the best plan for me, and is neither complicated nor stressful. Afterall, even in retirement, one must still strive to keep the mind active.

When this part of placing FD is done, I will post my experiences based on real numbers.

Qwert

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

For Malaysia:"Currency Import regulations: Local currency (Malaysian Ringgit-MYR) and foreign currencies: No restrictions. Amounts exceeding MYR 30,000.- and USD 10,000.- or equivalent must be declared for re-export.
Currency Export regulations:Allowed: local currency (Malaysian Ringgit-MYR): up to MYR 30,000.- and foreign currencies: up to USD 10,000.- or equivalent. Higher amounts may be exported provided import has been declared upon arrival."

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

And for China (transit):

"Cash: Passengers carrying over RMB 20,000 in cash or foreign currencies with a conversion rate exceeding US $5,000 shall be processed by Customs in accordance with the current regulations.

Passengers carrying foreign currencies exceeding US $5,000, which will be taken out of the country at the end of their stay, shall complete a Customs Declaration Form in duplicate. One copy of this form, endorsed by Customs, shall be returned to the passenger for relevant procedures at the time of their exit."

Just declare it with customs. You might also want to request to be screened separately as you don't want to be separated from your money. And maybe purchase one of those trackers or alarm systems that you can remotely trigger and place that within the currency.

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

Very similar to what Malaysia's Customs write about it: http://www.customs.gov.my/en/tp/Pages/tp_cec.aspx

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

I'm finally approved and will do the MM2H FD in a couple of weeks, and as I only have a couple of days to arrange it in Penang I'm trying to research the best options before I go to banks in person. Does it matter what CIMB branch I go to? The one near Komtar is closest to me and would be most convenient. Is it worth trying Hong Leung, OCBC, or is CIMB the safest bet for long term good rates?

It does seem a bit complicated that one have to negotiate the rates, and then negotiate it again every year. I already have a HSBC account in Malaysia, and I'm a bit tempted to just go with them, as the premier status would save the monthly fees I'm currently paying in Malaysia, and China (1200RMB, about 750MYR), however the 1% extra interest earned would be more than that.
And after one year will have only 150K deposited, so would lose CIMB Preferred status, while HSBC @200K could maybe be possible to keep, if adding another FD or maybe a USD FD.

How fast can I transfer funds from HSBC to CIMB, as I currently have the funds with HSBC Malaysia. Is there a same day transfer option? Will a cheque be deposited the same day, or next day or can it take longer?

Re: Opening a Bank Account in Kuala Lumpur
 

You might want to try contacting your HSMC Malaysia Premier relationship manager and say that you are considering a MM2H FD with another bank and see if you can get a better rate from HSBC. Also when I used HSBC branch at Georgetown I was able to get all the paperwork done in a few hours (including opening of accounts, transfer of offshore funds) as they knew all about the MM2H paperwork and processes. That was important for me as I was only in Penang for a day before proceeding to KL to get the MM2H visa,
For you to decide whether the ease in doing the paperwork is worth the lower FD rates that you may get.