Hong Kong-based Hang Seng Bank and Singapore's DBS Group
Holdings said yesterday that they had received approval from
China's banking regulator to incorporate locally, paving the way
for them to tap the renminbi retail business.
The two lenders were among the second batch of eight overseas
banks allowed to prepare for local incorporation, but names of the
other six were not immediately available and the China Banking
Regulatory Commission (CBRC) could not be reached last night.
Earlier, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of East Asia and
Citigroup secured the nod to start operations as locally
incorporated companies and have begun offering renminbi retail
services.
In addition, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
Ltd, ABN AMRO, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, JPMorgan Chase Bank
and Wing Hang Bank are preparing to register their local
subsidiaries in Shanghai, Beijing or Shenzhen.
"We are very pleased that the CBRC has granted approval for Hang
Seng to set up a mainland-incorporated subsidiary," Raymond Or,
vice-chairman and chief executive of Hang Seng Bank, said
yesterday.
"The establishment of Hang Seng Bank (China) Limited marks a
significant new phase in Hang Seng's mainland business strategy and
is in line with our longstanding commitment to this fast-growing
market," he added.
To be headquartered in Shanghai, Hang Seng Bank (China) Ltd is
expected to begin business shortly. Or will be the chairman of the
bank's mainland subsidiary and Johnson Fu, head of China Business,
will serve as chief executive.
DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia's largest bank, confirmed to
China Daily last night that it had also received the green
light from the regulator.
"With the setting up of the local subsidiary, and in time to
come, we hope to provide the full suite of wealth management
services to our customers in Hong Kong and Singapore, and to local
and foreign residents on the mainland," DBS spokeswoman Eunice Woo
said earlier.
Hang Seng Bank, a principal member of the HSBC Group, has a
network of 17 outlets on the Chinese mainland, including seven
branches, nine sub-branches and one representative office; while
DBS has 10 outlets on the mainland, including those owned by DBS
Bank (Hong Kong) Limited.
(China Daily May 22, 2007)