Well IB has a HK presence so any accounts of HK residents will have to be opened using the proper account domicile, forms, disclosures and regulations etc. applicable to HK residents. This may extend to BVI also although I am surprised if so. Probably IB refers all non-Canadian accounts to their U.S. head office. This is partly because IB Canada trades are cleared in the U.S. and so subject to U.S. regulation as well. Try Friedberg in Toronto and see what they say. They are a great and famous Canadian futures broker with a worldwide reputation. For U.S. accounts, they open them with their U.S. CFTC-registered subsidiary, and there would be no Canadian insurance. But for HK or BVI residents, maybe they would open an account in their Canadian office (unless HK regulations forbid it also, which they may well do). I have heard that HK has some such restrictions.
I should add that Friedberg is not exactly a direct-access broker. You might still be able to work something out with them, though, depending on account size and the type of trading you do, if you explain what your goal is; namely, having the benefit of the Canadian insurance. Maybe they can suggest some affiliated introducing broker or way such as give-ups or whatever.....
Thanks Comintel, I might give them a call later on, but their website doesn't look too good in term of market offerings. The more I look around the more I feel i'll have to stick with US brokers - possibly a couple of them and keep some cash in overseas banks .
You cannot always judge a book by its cover, as the saying goes.They are a very high-end broker catering to high-end investors (and others). Albert Friedberg was often quoted in Barons on energy trading. I have had accounts at Friedberg some years ago. They offer just about every futures market worldwide. They were offering the London futures markets before anyone else. They were doing RMB options before anyone else. They now have offices in South America also and Barbados for dealing with offshore accounts. But I had to phone in orders to my broker. They did not have online order entry then. I do not know if they do now. Basically they are oriented towards managed accounts and their hedge funds etc. but they do take self-managed accounts also. Also commissions may be high but negotiable. But they do know the offshore regulations so if you speak to whoever deals with HK investors there he can give you the whole story. I see that they have a Chinese web page http://friedberg.ca/content/about/chinese.html
On their website, I noticed Friedberg mentions self directed online accounts, but the link is empty. It does look like working with them would be expensive. Hong Kong is not completely bereft of futures broker, besides IB, ADM Investors Services has a local branch and the american parent company seems quite reputable. But it's 30usd round trip online ! I'm also looking for a competitive broker, in terms of price and preferably execution. Also the wire and intermediary bank fees are serious issues if using too many accounts, hence I'd still prefer a multiplatform broker, offering futures but also equities and options, and I'm having a really hard time finding those outside the US (with good rates) For those who might feel concerned, note that IB and Etrade offer very cheap to free funding possibilities from HK (but Etrade only offers part of the products it offers US investors - no global markets nor futures for instance).