5 Financial Tips For Expats In China!
For many foreigners who are working in China, they have nice income. But, the big problem is managing, growing and protecting the money you make.
When planning your finances, you may be all on your own with little or no help. For that reason we present some useful tips for staying financially secure in China.
Wealth Protection
This involves insurance, particularly medical insurance. Once you have created your wealth, the last thing you want to do is loose it. Let’s say you’ve accumulated a bit of money, but then get in a traffic accident or get diagnosed with a severe medical condition.
An accident or illness can set you back hundreds of thousands of RMB – especially when using expensive expat hospitals – thus wiping out your savings.
But by having just basic inpatient coverage, your insurance provider will cover all the medical bills to help preserve the wealth you’ve amassed.
Investing
Just in the way insurance preserves the money you’ve made, investing grows it. Banks in China (and practically all over the world) provide low interest rates – barley enough to keep up with inflation.
You may consider investing in funds that grow your hard-earned cash faster. However, a general rule you need to know is investment always involves risk!
Banking
It’s definitely not recommended to have your entire savings in one Chinese bank.
A better option could be offshore banking. By placing some of your savings offshore in a secure/regulated jurisdiction (while leaving a bit in your Mainland bank for spending money), you can rest assured that your wealth is in a safe place.
Currency Transfers
Foreigners are limited to transfer currency per year out of the country (though you’ll need to pay slips from your company, ID, and loads of other documents to do this).
For many foreigners in China, you can use Western Union to transfer currency overseas since it owns the most professional and advanced electronic transfer finance network.
But recently many Chinese banks have imposed restrictions on the Western Union’s network, which results from Chinese foreign exchange policy.
More about the details you can refer to the article we posted before. 👇
Which Banks Allow To Use Western Union? See This!
Stocks & Property
Before investing here, you may need to take a few points into consideration.
🏡 China’s property market is clearly in a bubble. Even though it’s been in a bubble for years and it still hasn’t burst.
💵 Chinese markets were in shambles for much of 2015 and 2016. While many analysts began stating that the worst was over last December.
💹 Bonds too have seen better days… The risk of default on Chinese bonds have continued to rise, and they’ll probably stay that way as long as China’s debt keeps mounting. Furthermore, China’s inflation spells also bad news for bonds.
Investing in China like other countries, it’s also risky. Under conditions as above...
If you can’t accept the risks, we recommend against investing in China at the moment.
However, if you need a bit of ultra-risk in your portfolio, there are other companies out there that do focus on Middle Kingdom markets that you could consult with.
As an expat, there are tremendous opportunities to add zeros to your bank account. But if you’re not managing your wealth properly to actively grow and protect your savings, are you truly maximizing your full potential?
Play the hand you were dealt like a pro and be sure to follow some of these tips for financial success in China.
HACOS,Business Services Solutions Master