Restructured BOC(HK) to Start Operation on Oct. 3The newly-restructured Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd. will begin operation on October 3, after combining the businesses of the former Bank of China Group (Hong Kong)'s twelve Hong Kong-based banks, executives of the bank announced Thursday.The new entity has merged the businesses of BOC HK branch, Kwangtung Provincial Bank HK branch, Sin Hua Bank Ltd HK branch, National Commercial Bank Ltd HK branch, Po Sang Bank Ltd, Hua Chiao Commercial Bank Ltd HK branch, Nanyang Commercial Bank Ltd, Chiyu Banking Corporation, and a number of subsidiary companies of the BOC Group in Hong Kong. The restructuring, started at the end of 2000, was aimed to sharpen the bank's competitive edge by reorganizing its resources, cutting operational costs and enhancing its competitiveness, said Liu Jinbao, Chief Executive of BOCHK. After restructuring, ten banks under the former BOC Group in Hong Kong will be combined to form the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd. The Nanyang Commercial Bank Ltd, Chiyu Banking Group Ltd and the Bank of China Credit Card Ltd will continue operation as three independent subsidiaries. The new company is set to put more focus on retail and intermediary businesses with main market orientation in Hong Kong, establish good corporate governance and a better customer service system, improve risk control measures and accurate information disclosure, said Liu. The merged company is Hong Kong's second largest banking group, with a total asset of 820 billion HK dollars (105 billion U.S. dollars), and a total amount of deposits of 620 billion HK dollars (79 billion U.S. dollars), and loans of 332 billion HK dollars (42 billion U.S. dollars). The company will continue to be one of the note-issuing banks in Hong Kong. |
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