1. Who are allowed to open A-share securities accounts within China?

Five main categories of foreign individuals can directly open an A-share account:

(1) Foreigners holding China’s permanent resident ID card.

(2) Foreigners who have legally established foreign-invested joint-stock companies within China and listed them on the A-share market.

(3) Foreign employees working in A-share listed companies in China and participating in stock incentives as per the Equity Incentive Measures for the Administration of Listed Companies.

(4) Foreign natural persons working in China.

(5) Foreign employees of A-share listed companies working abroad who are involved in equity incentive plans.

2. How can foreign individuals working in China apply for an A-share securities account?

Required materials include:

(1) A completed Securities Account Opening Application Form.

(2) Foreign passport and its copy.

(3) Employment certificate from a domestic institution and a copy of that institution's business license or unified social credit code certificate (both stamped).

(4) If applying via a proxy, a notarized power of attorney from a domestic notary public and the proxy’s valid ID and a copy is required.

3. How can foreign employees of domestic listed companies working abroad, who participate in equity incentive plans, apply for an A-share securities account?

Required materials include:

(1) A completed Securities Account Opening Application Form.

(2) Copy of valid ID of foreign employee involved in the equity incentive (stamped by the listed company).

(3) Copies of the company’s business license, legal representative’s certificate and authorization documents for the representative handling the account (all stamped by the company).

(4) Documents proving that the investor is part of the equity incentive plan, such as approval of the plan and certification from the company (stamped by the listed company).

(5) A self-regulatory commitment letter signed by the employee.

4. What are the management requirements for A-share securities accounts for foreign individuals?

When handling an account opening for foreign individuals working in China, the account opening agent must confirm that the securities regulator of the investor's country (or region) has established a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Accounts cannot be opened for investors whose country’s regulatory agency has not signed a regulatory cooperation memorandum with the CSRC. To date, the CSRC has signed bilateral regulatory cooperation agreements with 67 countries and regions.

Foreign individuals must comply with relevant laws such as the Securities Law of China and the Measure for the Administration of Securities Registration and Settlement when opening and using A-share securities accounts, as well as with CSRC regulations and the business rules of the securities company, ensuring truthful reporting and proper documentation submissions.

Source: csrc.gov.cn, yicai.com, stcn.com