Hong Kong issues online banking licences to StanChart JV, two others

HKT Trust and HKT

27/03/2019 09:22

HONG KONG, March 27 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's banking
regulator said on Wednesday it had issued online-only banking
licences to three companies, including joint ventures of
Standard Chartered  STAN.L  and BOC Hong Kong  2388.HK .
    StanChart will own 65.1 percent in SC Digital Solutions Ltd
joint venture, while the remaining will be owned by Hong
Kong-based telecoms groups PCCW Ltd  0008.HK  and HKT, as well
as Ctrip Financial, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)
said.
    Two other licences have been awarded to majority-owned joint
ventures of BOC Hong Kong, a unit of Bank of China  601988.SS ,
and ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance  6060.HK , the regulator said. 
      
    The new licences will give the lenders access to a lucrative
banking market, but one where many consumers are unhappy with
their current options.  
    According to research from Accenture, just 43 percent of
people living in Hong Kong have a positive experience when
visiting their bank branch, versus a global average of 57
percent. 

 (Reporting by Alun John, Sumeet Chatterjee and Holly Chik,
Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Himani Sarkar)
 ((Alun.John@thomsonreuters.com; +852-28415827;))