Job Discussion Forums

[Kitegirl]

Okay, at the risk of sounding as dumb as I can actually be on occasion - why are we all changing our Chinese dosh in HK? I was hoping to waltz up to a bank in GZ clutching a handful of kwai and my little red book with school stamps and coming away with a combi of Euros and dollars. (I guess it would be folly to think I can buy Euro or US travellers checks at a BoC?)
Am I really thick? Let me do a search and find out.

[White Widow]

Roger - for somone who is trying to clear up misinformation, your post is noticably contradictory! First you claim that RMB is not convertible, then you go on to give examples of how people *can* convert it both in HK and all over the world! Please be more clear about what you mean. Do you mean that you cannot take RMB to your home bank and deposit it? Certainly you can exchange RMB for HK dollars in HK at any bank, in some places with little or no fee/reduced exchange rate.

We are all aware that you can convert RMB to USD in China if you jump through all the hoops, but doing it this way takes an inordinate amount of time and effort, and the purpose of this thread is to find the best alternative to that approach. In fact, that is NOT an option for me as I am leaving China only a few days after my final paycheck - I don't have 30 days to wait for the BOC to run my exchange request through their system.

It would be helpful if you could offer constructive comments about how to best affect this exchange from RMB --> USD rather than make contradictory (or at least confusing) posts.

[Laoshi1950]

Hi White Widow! The point of my post was to let Australian list members know that the RMB is convertible in Brisbane, Australia. It is a quick, drama-free process at American Express Foreign Exchange offices and at the Travelex Foreign Exchange desks at the International Airport and downtown. I have exchanged up to RMB25000 on occasion during the past three years. The downside is that the rate is not as good as on the mainland. I have also exchanged my 70% of salary entitlement at the Bank of China too, but the process is always complicated, time-consuming, and requires a pile of documents. The exchange rate was better at the Bank of China though!!