I can answered you on that. Interest of ~1%. Check out OCBC 360 and SC eSavers.

Sorry could you let me know what is TAC?

Yes, walk in, tell them you want a trading account you are all set. For standard chartered, they may ask you to fill an assessment form. On the option asking whether you have done 6 trades in the past, say yes (dont worry they dont check whether its true). Its some rule by the SG gov after the financial crash, to prevent financially uneducated people from dumping their money in shares

For both saving accounts there will be online banking, and they will give you a physical token. You can use your Malaysia address and all letters will be sent to you in Malaysia. Transfering money can be done online. In fact in Singapore, interbank transfer is instant and free (i really mean instant, when you click transfer on bank A and you refresh bank B, your money is already updated in bank B). Limited to 50K SGD a day.

Order is not important. But come to think of it... OCBC has a 3000 SGD min balance, Stan chart has a 1000 SGD min balance which may be quite steep for some people.

I think fall below fee is 2 dollars a month. There are some people who managed to open 2 Stan Chart Esaver account... i dont know how they do it. They just transfer between both accounts.

Initially it was cash. Later when both sides trust each other, they accept my cheque and lock in the rate there and then. 3 days later when the cheque is cleared, they make the transfer

Its seasonal , but every 3 months they release the new promo rates for the next 3 months. This has been going on for the past few years so i dont think it will stop anytime soon.

Regardless, whether there is a promo or not i still need to keep that account to fund my trading, so it does not impact me that much. I treat it more as a bonus. Most of my money are locked up in FD as i plan to buy a house soon.

Thanks for the feedback. How about HSBC? I was told that a HSBC Malaysia Premier customer can open the respective sg accounts (savings + trading) without physically in sg.

no fee required. U just need 200k (if not mistaken) to be their premier customer in order to eligible such service. Of course they most likely giving u a lousy exchange rate compare to other bank 

No lah. The reason BNM lock down is because of money laundering. At that time, many politicians were transferring money out of the country using money changer. Escape the banking system and the records. So eventually this route is eliminated.

if you are not citizen or permanent resident, you will be required to pay additional stamp duty of 15%.

you can buy REITS in Singapore. REITS in singapore enjoy close to zero taxes if they distribute 90% of their earnings as dividends.
Maybank Kim Eng Remisier

Hello..next week I planned going down to Sg to have open a trading and savings acc with sc and ocbc.

currently i don hav working permit / non PR. so far anyone had open an account lately in Sg.

Some branch doesnt allow. Some say approval is case to case basis.

any advise?

Ok done with opening.next is to decide what to buy

so u open using your relative Singapore address 

Just put half in sling bag and half in luggage. They dont really check. Put a bottle of water in sling to distract their attention.

That leads to an important question. If I have many loans in Malaysia, does that mean that I cannot TT to Singapore? Why other reason can I use apart from "Investment"?

*In Singapore now. Maximum cash to carry before need to declare is SGD 20,000.

Tried to open trading account together with saving account at Standard Chartered Bank but rejected by that bank. Then I went to UOB, managed to open saving account after agreeing to take up Prudential insurance saving account of about 2% interest per annum, mature at 10 years. Saving account minimum balance SGD 1000, else charges of SGD 2 per month. Insurance premium minimum SGD 6670 per year for 5 years. Monthly premium payments accepted but that will attract a small administrative fee.

Insurance pays you 5% of your capital paid plus refund your capital in the event of death.

I was told by Standard Chartered bank I need to have a saving account first before opening trading account. To open a saving account need employment pass.

Not really. I am a Malaysian, and made a small initial investment in Singapore Savings Bond, a month ago.

____
The interest gained in investing in Singapore Savings Bonds is around 2 %. It is not much, but it is slightly better than the Fixed Deposit in Singapore.

Then again, should I invest instead in Sreits, if the risk in Sreits is manageable? 

Any advice from any experts here is very much appreciated here. 

Thanks for your insight, Hansel.

I realize the need to balance between the potential gain (or interest), with the tolerable risk I may face. For sure, with such great amount of knowledge you have, you know where to invest your money to maximize gain, while minimizing pitfall and loses.

For a newbie like me, I have a lot to know to learn from you all. 

By saying 'instruments in the SGX', are you suggesting to invest in stocks in SGX?

Open a trading acx first in Sg.

Btw are u working in Sg? If yes will be more easier.

Sg has tighten d rules for us to get a trading acc.

Try to email or call the bank n enquire for more info on trading acc.