My U.S. Stock Journey

2025-07-04
Aside from buying crypto, I’ve never really tried investing before. Lately, I figured—why not mess around a bit and try some U.S. ETFs?

1. From Yu’ebao to Industrial Bank → USD Exchange Link to heading

The first step was easy: I withdrew ¥30,000 from Yu’ebao into my Industrial Bank account.

Then I used the Industrial Bank app to exchange RMB to USD. I selected “USD” as the currency and chose “Travel” as the reason for exchange.

2. Wire Transfer → HSBC One Account Link to heading

I had already opened an HSBC One multi-currency account, so I simply went into the Industrial Bank app and chose “Overseas Remittance.” I sent the money to myself with the following info:

• Receiving bank: HSBC (Hong Kong)
• SWIFT code: HSBCHKHHHKH
• Account number: My 12-digit HSBC One account
• Purpose: I wrote “Personal travel”
• Address: Just randomly entered a Hong Kong address

The Industrial Bank “Global Card” didn’t charge any fees for this transfer. Pretty awesome.

2025-07-08

3. HSBC One → Longbridge Deposit Link to heading

These days, it seems like mainland users are having a hard time opening accounts with brokers like Futu, Longbridge, and Tiger. You now need proof of overseas employment or a work visa. I got around this by using my Hong Kong driver’s license. Should’ve done this earlier—it would’ve saved me a lot of hassle.

This time, I deposited ¥30,000, which came out to about $4,100 USD.

Here’s my current portfolio:

Let’s see how these ETFs perform over time…

2025-07-30

So far, I’ve had no issues wiring money from Industrial Bank to HSBC twice. But this third time—it got rejected.

A bank rep called me and asked detailed questions:
“If the USD is for spending, why not send HKD instead?”
“If you’re traveling to a USD country, do you have a visa or hotel/flight bookings?”
Industrial Bank’s controls are getting tighter for sure.

This time, I took a different route—wired from Bank of China mainland to Bank of China Hong Kong, then funded the brokerage. Worked perfectly, no deductions.

I deposited ¥50,000, or around $7,000 USD, and kept DCA-ing into QQQM. I also added some VOO this time.

Updated portfolio: