My husband’s cousin just asked him to open an account but told me that I could not. I know that’s not true, so how do I do it? Thanks.
you need to provide a bit more information. Is your husband’s cousin taiwanese? Are you?
Foreigners CAN open stock trading accounts here.
Try calling a few brokerages.
also, you need a guarantor for the tax payments. (Only applicable if you actually ear money).
Does anyone have any brokerage recommendations?
Places used to dealing with foreigners…?
Online as well as real world…
Kenneth
I’ve visited several brokerages recently and found them all helpful. Some staff were more knowledgeable than others in dealing with foreigners. After visiting the first 2 or 3, I had a pretty good idea of what was needed.
To open an account
You need some kind of permission from the Ministry of Finance. The brokerage can sort this out for you. There may be a small fee for doing this. Probably worth it. I did it myself and spent half an afternoon dealing with it. The brokerage will give you a Securities passbook. Your buys and sells are recorded in it in much the same way as cash in a bank account. Entries are of course in Mandarin.
Trading
Unless your tones are really good, I suggest placing telephone orders in English. If you don’t know the name of the company in Mandarin, use the English name and give the ticker.
Like dividends?
As a foreigner, you will be taxed on dividends, both stock and cash, unless you let the brokerage know you: a) have an ARC; and b) are in Taiwan for more than 183 days a year. If a dividend is paid in 2005, for example, you must let the brokerage know this before the end of the same year, or the tax will be taken off and you’ll have to go through the hassle of claiming it back (how much hassle, I don’t know, since I’ve not done it yet).
You might want to find a brokerage that’s convenient for you to visit, and has someone you find it easy to communicate with.
I’ve heard good things about Fubon for stock trading.
Hey, wonderful info. Thanks a lot! I may start this in about 2 more months and now I’ll know exactly how to start.
It just made me so mad that my own family member looked at me like a whacko for suggesting that a foreigner could trade stock in Taiwan, even though my desire to do so started with a desire to help her out with anothe new account for her new job! :fume:
I have a Fubon account at the MingSeng branch. It was easy to open and everything is done over the phone. I’ve had it for a few years now and it’s been hassle free barring my losses of course.