Capital Flight From China, One Person at a Time, Via ATM and Bitcoin

In response to New Yuan Loans and Shadow Banking Collapse in China; Record Bank Deposit Slump reader "CF" from Hong Kong who works in China explains how he is pulling every cent he can out of renminbi (yuan) , converting instead to Hong Kong dollars.

From "CF" regarding his personal "capital flight" experiences ...

Hey Mish,

I am a reader from Hong Kong who works and lives in China and earns RMB. I never doubted a collapse in Chinese shadow banking would happen. I have been constantly converting my RMB into HKD. Before, I would just take 20,000 RMB (max allowed by customs) and withdraw the max from ATMs in Hong Kong each day and just eat the 15RMB fee/bank exchange rate.

[Mish note: 20,000 RMB is about $3248 at current pricing]

Now with bitcoin. I can convert RMB to bitcoin, send it to myself and put it back in my bank in Hong Kong as HKD without any currency controls. However, bitcoin is volatile so I only keep my cash in BTC for as little time as possible. The alternative is to sit hours at a tax bureau to obtain a certificate saying you paid taxes before you can remit any money at a bank that charges 200 RMB [$32.50] per wire transfer.

China is going to face some serious issues in the next decade or so. I've lived here for a few years and I can say that the apartment I rent which was built in late 2000's will not last 30 years. I've had pipe bursts, and cardboard walls fall apart.

My landlord told me she bought this apartment for her 5 year old when he gets married. It will never last. I'm willing to bet the building will be torn down. Starting over will be cheaper than fixing.

The scary thing is this is central Beijing - the capital. In engineering, there is a saying, "Cost, Speed, Quality; Choose 2", China clearly chose the Cheap, Fast building route.

Keep the articles coming.
"CF"