Hong Kong’s monetary authority issued three virtual bank licenses to companies backed by mainland tech giants and financial institutions.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the special administrative region’s de facto central bank, said Wednesday the licenses would take effect March 27, and services will be officially launched within the next six to nine months.
The issuance of virtual bank licenses is a key step for Hong Kong to move toward a new era of smart banking to enhance the city’s position as an international financial hub, said HKMA CEO Norman Chan Tak-lam. Winners of the first licenses are Livi VB Ltd., SC Digital Solutions Ltd. and Zhongan Virtual Finance Ltd.
Zhongan Virtual Finance was set up by Sinolink Group and ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co. Ltd., which is backed by Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent. The company said it is set to roll out its first batch of financial products by the end of the year.
Livi is a joint venture formed by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd., Beijing Jingdong Financial Technology Holding Co. — the financial technology arm of e-commerce giant JD.com — and British conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd.. Livi is expected to start online banking services in the next six months.
SC Digital is funded by Standard Chartered Bank, PCCW Ltd., Hong Kong Telecommunications Ltd. and Ctrip Finance, the fintech unit of Ctrip.com International Ltd. Standard Chartered said the virtual bank will be integrated with other services of PCCW, HKT and Ctrip, providing a wide range of retail financial services and products.