Beijing will allow Hong Kong and Macau-domiciled banks to launch a range of services on the mainland including credit cards next month, the latest in a series of steps to integrate the financial sectors of China and its two special administrative regions.
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The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), an agency under the State Council that oversees the financial sector, said on Thursday that it would lift restrictions that currently prohibit Hong Kong and Macau banks from offering any type of bank card services to their customers on the mainland.
The new rules introduced under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between the mainland and Hong Kong would allow mainland units of Hong Kong commercial banks to issue debit cards and credit cards to customers from March 1, according to a statement posted on the NFRA’s website.
Hong Kong’s major lenders such as HSBC Holdings, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of East Asia, Hang Seng Bank and others would benefit from the move, according to Kenny Ng Lai-yin, a strategist at Everbright Securities International.
“Big international players such as HSBC and Standard Chartered are eyeing further expansion in Asia, particularly mainland China,” Ng said. “The easing of the restrictions will allow Hong Kong lenders’ mainland branches to provide more services to customers, enhancing their competitiveness against domestic mainland Chinese banks.”
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