How I became a registered shareholder of $AI (+0.47%) became.
Every now and then the French withholding tax is a topic and indeed it is very unattractive to avoid it (because only the custodian bank can arrange it). Yes, and then Air Liquide also has an exciting loyalty program that gives you a 10% bonus on dividends and bonus shares after two years of holding. The catch is that you have to own registered shares for this, and that's not so easy with a German custody account.
You can kill both birds with one stone if you open a securities account directly with Air Liquide (see link below). But how does that actually work? A field report:
The first step is to submit (all via contact form) the following: a completed form with all possible details, plus an identification via copy of the perso or passport, a phone bill and in addition what the banks in France call RIB. I didn't have the latter and in the end it turned out that a blackened bank statement (as PDF) with name, IBAN and BIC is also sufficient. I was lucky, because I would have had to run after a bank confirmation.
Then first wait. Wait until the deposit documents arrive by mail. Wait: documents (plural?). No, not really. After a few days, you simply receive a sheet with your personal shareholder number. You need this number in combination with your cell phone number to finally register for the portal. It's a bit of a hassle, but it's quick and you have direct access.
Well, and now it's time to act. Air Liquide is not a big broker, but the options are perfectly fine. You can create normal limit orders, which are then processed via Euronext Paris. French transaction tax applies of course, order fees are 0.1% of the order value ... I found okay.
Then I had to wait again, because the orders are not placed very fast and the feedback is rather slow. After a few hours, the order confirmation came by mail; it was not visible in the portal even days later. My order was then executed normally, but the clarity suffers. One day later, the appropriate document was finally available. However, the order history is a long time coming, so it's best not to check it too often. I paid by direct debit, so a rather unusual procedure.
Yes, and what about the tax? I have not paid in this way yet, but according to the FAQ, 12.8% withholding tax is withheld for persons outside of France only. This means that you have to declare the rest in Germany, including the already paid (creditable) withholding tax.
A word of warning in advance. My compatriots are not known for their great English, so I wouldn't be surprised if little things appear in French from time to time. But should be nothing of great relevance :)
