 |
 |
|||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Advertise
In the Bulletin
Legco Report
From the Director
Cover Story
Banking on Human Capital
Lack of right skills hurting HK
i-Perkin
Slower growth expected for Hong Kong SAR economy
Face to Face
With Cindy Cheng
Business
World services leaders met to drive the global economy
Strengthening cooperation in the Pearl River Delta
WTO Corner
Member Profile
Chamber Programmes
China's WTO entry will sharpen Hong Kong's competitiveness
Hong Kong to be regional hub for spreading 'Disney magic'
Students experience importance of English in the workplace
Chamber WEC launched
Simon Says
The thrill of bargaining
Food & Wine
Wine
Business Lunches
WTO CORNER
October 2001 Issue  China speeding up banking reform Golden opportunities for foreign banks to expand their Mainland operations exist, analysts tell audience at HKGCC WTO Banking Update Workshop By AGNES LAU
The workshops were initiated two years after the Chamber invited experts from nine business sectors to study the impact of China 's accession into the WTO on different sectors of the Hong Kong economy. Now, at this critical juncture of China's WTO entry, HKGCC has invited the WTO working group members to review and update the report based on developments during the past two years and to discuss new perspectives.Their findings will be discussed at various industry workshop luncheons throughout the remainder of the year. The first workshop, the banking sector, was held on September 11. Banking Sector developmentsAt present, China is trying to ensure its financial stability by speeding up banking reform, reduce bad debts by RMB60 billion annually and rectify stock market excesses. Mainland China 's regulations prohibit banks, securities firms and insurers from entering each other's business territories. But China is considering adopting a uniform supervisory system which will help cope with post-WTO challenges. An integrated regulatory system will also help make supervisory agencies leaner, avoid overlapping and boost efficiency.China is also planning to relax the US$20 billion capital requirement for foreign banks. If this happens, three more Hong Kong banks -- Bank of East Asia, Nanyang Commercial Bank and Dao Heng Bank -- will be able to enter the Mainland market. The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the biggest commercial bank in the Mainland, has been aggressively improving its competitiveness ahead of China 's WTO entry. The bank is targeting more overseas customers, including those from Hong Kong and Macao, to diversify its customer base which is presently predominated by state owned enterprises. However, he doesn't expect the credit card business to increase in the short-term. In addition, ICBC will recruit foreign professionals, including those from Hong Kong. Opportunities for Foreign Banks
Foreign banks are expected to transform their business mix on the Mainland -- now dominated by corporate banking -- to include consumer banking, which is presently dominated by Mainland banks, he said. Some 47 per cent of all foreign banks in China have set up in Shanghai, Mr Kwok said, as they fell many multinationals setting up there will want to use their services. Also, it will be very difficult for any bank to offer nation-wide banking services. Therefore, banks should focus on one area or niche markets. Besides hiring more foreign professionals to modernise and train bank staff, Mainland banks are also expected to form strategic alliances with foreign banks to bridge their technology and capital shortages. For Hong Kong banks, such partnerships would be similar to relocating manufacturing facilities across the border whereby the Mainland would provided the land and labour while Hong Kong would provided machinery and skills, he said. With WTO membership allowing greater participation of foreign banks in the China market, HKSAR banks still have room to manoeuvre as they enjoy greater access and a wider scope of business in the mainland. Once the Mainland market starts opening, competition among foreign and Mainland banks will intensify. Hong Kong 's banking industry should capitalise on its geographical and cultural advantages and work with Mainland banks to develop niche products, such as e-banking. Cooperation with Mainland banks could also include developing a credit information bureau and an interbank clearing system, Mr Kwok said.The Bank of Communications, China 's fifth-largest commercial lender, strategically allied to Citibank recently. This form of alliance will assist the internationalization of the Mainland banking industry in terms of bolstering its capital base and management skills. The Ministry of Finance's approval for the first SOE banks to deal in foreign shares has generated much interest in financial circles. Industry analysts predict the move will start a new trend in financing state-owned banks. |
David Wong, chairman, Dah
Sing Bank, and chairman of the Chamber's WTO report banking working group, and K C Kwok,
regional chief economist, Standard Chartered Bank, spoke at the first of the Chamber
China| About HKGCC | Member Services | Join Us | Contact Us | Advertising | Jobs |
|
The Chamber's Privacy Policy Statement Copyright © 1998-2008 The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. All Rights Reserved. |