BOC to list in Hong Kong this summer
( 2002-03-18 10:54 ) (1 )

The Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd is set to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this year.

Andrew Sheng, chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, made the remarks on Saturday at the Bank of China Forum under the banner of Globalization and Bank Restructuring.

President Liu Mingkang of the Bank of China said restructuring on the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd has already been finished and the bank is well prepared for the listing.

"We are determined to float Hong Kong operations on the capital market worldwide," Liu said, without giving a timetable.

Participants at the forum said the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd would be listed in Hong Kong in June or July.

The listing would act as a model for the reform of the Chinese mainland's banking sector, Sheng said.

Hong Kong could offer experience of how to control financial risks and introduce globally accepted rules to the Chinese mainland while the latter is working to streamline its financial system, he said.

"Hong Kong could act as a laboratory for the mainland's financial reform, and as a bridge to connect the mainland to the world financial market," he said.

Huang Jinlao, a senior researcher with the International Financial Research Institute under the Bank of China, said the eventual goal of the Bank of China and other State-owned banks - which are now busy restructuring their Hong Kong operations - is to get the whole bank listed on the stock markets after the renminbi becomes fully convertible.

"Large commercial banks will have to step into the international financial market because of the country's membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its integration into the world economy," Huang said.

The banks will have to commercialize themselves rapidly to increase their competitive edge, management and risk-control capability, he said.

Liu said his bank planned to turn itself into a large international bank with competitive advantages and relatively good corporate governance within three to five years.

"The Bank of China will further grow into one of the top international banks through mergers and acquisitions within five to 10 years."

He added the Bank of China has already become a main channel of China's utilization of foreign investment.

By the end of last year, the bank signed more than US$60 billion worth of loans with foreign financial institutions, accounting for one-third of the forex China used from abroad.

The bank has set up 560 branches or institutions in 25 countries and regions.

"The bank has for 12 consecutive years been chosen among the top 500 companies by the Fortune magazine," Liu said.

The Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd, one of the note-issuing banks in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is the second largest banking group in Hong Kong, with total assets of HK$820 billion (US$105 billion).

On October 1, the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd was created as a result of a merger of 10 of the 12 member banks of the Bank of China Group.