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BEA’sBrianLiexplainsShanghailistingplans
BankofEastAsia’sdeputychiefexecutiveBrianLitellsasiamoney.comwhythelenderisanxioustolistin
Shanghaiassoonaspossible.Thefirmisalsoeagertoexpandto100branchesonthemainlandin2010.
Earlierthisyear,BankofEastAsiadeclaredits
interestinseekingalistingontheShanghai
stockmarket.
Indoingsoitisfollowinginthefootstepsof
largerrivalsHSBCHoldingsandStandard
Chartered,whicharebothknowntobeseek-
ingmainlandIPOs.
HongKong’sfifth-largestlenderviewsthe
moveaslogicalgiventhatitsChinaunitis gationoftherelevantgovernmentpoliciesand ThelistingonChina’sstockmarketisvery
showingthefastestgrowthamongallofits regulationsinrespectofthelistingofforeign importantforthebankgroupastheenlarged
businesses. companiesinChina.Wewillgetaclearerpic- capitalbasewillfacilitateourexpansion
Inthefirsthalfofthisyear,BEAChinacon- turewhentherelatedgoverningpoliciesare plans.Moreover,thelistingwillalsohelpto
tributed40%tothegroup’spre-taxprofitand releasedatalaterstage. enhancethecorporateimageandreputation
about35%ofitsloanportfolio.Thebank ofBEAinChina,whichisparticularlyimpor-
expectsthatChinaloangrowthwilleasilysur- AM:HowconfidentareyouthatBEAcan tantforthedevelopmentofpersonalbanking
passthatofitsHongKongunitsandcon- successfullylistinShanghaiin2010? andthewealthmanagementbusiness.
tributemorethan50%toitsloanportfolioin
comingyears. BL:WehopethatBEAcanlistonChina’sstock AM:DoyouseeShanghaieverbecomingan
Inaninterviewwithasiamoney.com,BEA marketasearlyaspossible.Wedon’thavea internationalfinancialcentreandwhat
deputychiefexecutiveBrianLi,whoheadsthe definitivetimetable.Oncetherelevantrules wouldtheimplicationsbeforHongKong?
bank’sChinabusiness,explainswhythebank andregulationsarereleased,wewillstudy
issokeentomakeitsdebutontheShanghai [them]ingreatdetailandstartthepreparato- BL:Shanghaihaslongbeenrecognisedasthe
stockmarketandwhathishopesareforBEA’s ryworkaccordingly. commercialcapitalofChina.Manymulti-
mainlandChinaexpansion. nationalcorporationshavesetuptheirregion-
AM:HowdoyouseeyourChinabusiness alheadquartersinthecityinrecentyearsas
Asiamoney[AM]:Whydoyouwanttoliston growinginthenextfewyearsandhowwould theypositionthemselvestofurtherdevelop
theShanghaiStockExchangeandwhatare aShanghailistingfitintothisplan? theirbusinessonthemainland.Itisaverynat-
themainbenefitsitwillbring? uralextensionofShanghai’sexistingposition
BL:ThebankingindustryinChinaishighly thatitlaysoutastrategytodevelopasan
BrianLi[BL],deputychiefexecutive,Bankof competitive,particularlyintraditionalbank- internationalfinancialcentreby2020.
EastAsia:ThelistingofBEAorBEAChinaon ingbusinesses.However,thereareenormous However,amajorhurdlethatShanghaihas
themainland’sstockmarketwillfurther opportunitiesinemergingbusinessareassuch toovercomeistohaveafullyconvertiblecur-
demonstratethefirmcommitmentoftheBank asinvestmentbanking,treasuryproducts,pri- rency.ThisiswhereHongKongcomesin.
GrouptodeveloptheChinamarket. vatebanking,wealthmanagementandban- Since2003,thecentralgovernmentandHong
Totaptheenormousopportunitiesofthe cassurance. Konghaveeasedrestrictionsondealinginren-
Chinamarket,BEAGroupwilldefinitelyaccel- Thisbankwillcontinuetopursueagrowth minbiandhavegiventhecurrencygreater
eratethepaceofbusinessdevelopmentplus strategyinChina.By2010,BEAChinais internationalvisibility.
thecontinuousnetworkexpansionintheyears expectedtooperateanetworkofapproximate- HongKongwasthefirstplacepermittedto
ahead.ThelistingofBEAorBEAChinaon ly100outletscoveringmajorurbancities openbankaccountsinrenminbi,withaccount
China’sstockmarketwillhelptoachievethis acrossthecountry. holdersfreetoexchangeuptoRmb20,000
goal.ThelistingwillnotonlyprovideBEA Wewillcontinuetoputresourcesinto (US$2,920)perday,andmorerecentlythe
Chinawithrenminbifundingforfurther developingourpersonalbankingandwealth pilotprogrammeforcross-boundaryrenminbi
expansion,butalsostrengthenthestrategic managementservicesbyexpandingourrange tradesettlementwaslaunchedinHongKong.
positionandenhancethecorporateimageof ofproducts,enhancingthefeaturesofour Inaddition,bothdomesticandoverseas
BEAinChina. cyber-bankingservices,andexpandingoure- bankshaveissuedbondsinHongKong.
distributionchannels. AsShanghaiisexpectedtolaunchmore
AM:Whatarethechallengesofcompletinga Ontheotherhand,wewillfostercloser financialreformsinthecomingyears,Hong
listinginShanghaiandwhatarethemain businessrelationshipswithlarge-scalestate- Kong’sroleasanestablishedoffshorefinancial
criteriathatyouhavetocomplywith? ownedenterprises,foreign-investedenterpris- centrewillbeamajorasset.
esandselectedprivateenterprises,and Inthelongrun,weseeawin-winpartner-
BL:Wearestillconsideringeitheragrouplist- strengthenourcorporateinvestmentservices shipinwhichShanghaiwillbecomeamajor
ingoraChinaunitspin-off.Asfarasagroup tofurtherdevelopourcorporatebankingbusi- financialcentreintheregion,andHongKong
listingisconcerned,weareawaitingpromul- ness. willspecialiseininternationalbusiness.
14 DEC2009/JAN2010 ASIAMONEY
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