hi again,
The idea behind the sponsorship is really a security reason. You can go right ahead and open a “savings” account without anybody else vouching that you are an “OK” person. ie. You have always been on the right side of the law, you’re a person of integrity etc… because with a savings account, the bank is obligated only to give you back the money deposited by you earlier. You can also have an ATM card with this sort of basic account which means you can withdraw you money also at most ATM outlets in China at all hours.
I assumed that you wanted a full checking account rather than just the ability to withdraw money you had previously deposited and perhaps even enjoy other “luxuries”, which will definitely require some form of sponsor; and in HSBC speak, that is either a PowerVantage or a Premier Account, which in turn means that you will not only have just a checking facility but you might have credit cards and both clean and secure overdraft limits,and margin for stocks etc…etc. attached to a single all-in-one mulitcurrency checking account.
The only way that the Bank or any bank really, is going to trust a complete stranger with all this many “facilities” and with only a preliminary check to his/her background, is if a reliable sponsor is “present” and the sponsor helps out alot in this respect.
With a person of decent background who has had a long relationship with the bank the whole process gets done much quicker because he/she could vouch for your integrity etc. It does not actually have to be an existing account holder, but anyone with good repute/no previous criminal record will do.
(Alternatively) If you open an account in SA with HSBC, where I assume you have lots of friends/relatives the bank manager of HSBC-SA is good enough to vouch for your “integrity” to open a subsequent account in Hong Kong or actually anywhere else for that matter.
Although Hong Kong is one of the “freeist” banking environment in the world, and it is hoping to be something like the “Switzerland” of the Far East,(ask no questions, say as little as possible about our client) we still qet our share of shady characters from time to time.
I remember just a few years ago or especially during the Marcos years, we get quite a few Philipinoes flying in and depositing several million HK dollars at a time or in one shot, and then supplying very little background or a dependable identification and then just flying away the very next day or week or then immediately going on shopping trips to use up most of the money etc. Much later the police finds out that the money has dubious origins etc… or the whole case end up as some form of money laundering scheme but the culprit is never found in Philipines. So if you ARE a Philipino, even a sponsor might not get you an account on the first day.
Nowadays the threat is probably from the Islamic sector, probably an undercover AL Quaida operative lookalike? - masquerading as a China businessman, trying to import SA Abalone as a front, but really trying to reach the border to Parkistan with Chinese made bombs etc…
By the way if you are really from SA, take a look at the Abalone business when you are back home. I hear that it is a roaring business, and China just can’t get enough of that stuff. 
Any HK exporter to China does not have to pay any tax. So the canning can be done in SA, the “value-added” bit can be done in Hong Kong ie the labelling.
HSBC is a very major reputable bank of course, so you expect some form of customer “vetting”. Give the manager of HSBC SA a phone call and ask him what he can do for you. At the end of the day most bank just want your money.
The other reason I suggested HSBC was because HSBC has a very good Health insurance scheme for China “travellers”. You know how in China when you are hurt (in an accident) or ill, they generally want to see your money/credit card first before “laying any finger” on you. Well with so many people from Hong Kong and foreigners now working in Shanghai/Beijing and various other places, a heath protection scheme was just absolutely essential.
Usually if you are going for a few weeks to any third world country, the normal travel insurance is just fine but this gets a bit expensive if you are stretching it to months and months or you are making frequent “in and out” trips or when you can’t afford to be flown back to Hong Kong just to treat a minor cut or flu etc.
Also of course HSBC can now (since April) take Reminbi deposits, which means that in your multi-currency checking account you could have Reminbi, the SA Rand, the US dollar, or Swiss Francs etc all alongside the Hong Kong dollar. You don’t have to “get rid” of your Chinese Reminbi or the Chinese Yuan, the very moment you leave China, like you would probably do with other currencies on a holiday, but you can actually keep it in an account. This way you can also bring a lot of money into China instead of the amount travellers usually carry in with traveller cheques or cash.
The other thing is of course is you can trade Foreign Currencies, with your HSBC account just like a forex trader. You can instruct the bank to buy Aussie dollars, or sell at a certain price or time ,so you don’t have to keep taking losses as the US dollars drops etc.
