I assume you are holding USD in your HSBC account. Just see my previous post. Transfer the money to e*trade's USD account - just as if you were transferring money to a friend's account. I even put their account number on my previous post for e*trade's USD account. (call them to verify).
Once you've done that, give e*trade a call. You must notify them that you've transferred money into their account that is bound for your USA account. Make sure you include your 8-digit USA e*trade account number. If you've done the transfer prior to 1:00 p.m. local hong kong time it will show up the next business day.
Call e*trade HKG if you have any questions. i also posted their phone number on an earlier post. They're quite friendly and very helpful.
Like Sqwak7700 said, don't pay HSBC wire transfer fees. HSBC is notorious for charging you for everything - bypass all of this by using e*trade.
Aloha
