HK regulator grants banking licenses to Ping An Bank, Hua Xia Bank and Qatar National Bank
HKMA has also approved the upgrading of the restricted banking licence of Morgan Stanley Asia International Limited to a banking licence.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has just announced the issuance of a batch of banking licenses. The regulator has granted banking licences to Qatar National Bank (Q.P.S.C.) (QNB), Ping An Bank Co., Ltd. (PAB) and Hua Xia Bank Co., Limited (HXB) under the Banking Ordinance.
Also, HKMA has approved the upgrading of the restricted banking licence of Morgan Stanley Asia International Limited (MSAIL) to a banking licence. MSAIL is incorporated in Hong Kong and has been authorized as a restricted licence bank in Hong Kong since 2014. MSAIL is a wholly-owned banking subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a bank holding company based in the United States.
The upgrading of restricted banking licence and the granting of the latest banking licences take effect on September 26, 2019.
After the upgrade and the grant of the above banking licences, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong grows to 164 while the number of restricted licence banks in Hong Kong becomes 17.
Let’s recall that, in May this year, the regulator announced it granted banking licences under the Banking Ordinance to Ant SME Services (Hong Kong) Limited, Infinium Limited, Insight Fintech HK Limited and Ping An OneConnect Company Limited for them to operate in the form of a virtual bank.
