Bank of China (Hong Kong) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bank of China Limited (BOCHK) is the second-largest commercial banking group

Commercial bank

After the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...

in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

in terms of asset

Asset

In financial accounting, assets are economic resources. Anything tangible or intangible that is capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value is considered an asset...

s and customer deposits, with more than 300 branches in Hong Kong. It was established on 1 October 2001 from a merger of 12 subsidiaries and associates of the Bank of China

Bank of China

Bank of China Limited is one of the big four state-owned commercial banks of the People's Republic of China. It was founded in 1912 by the Government of the Republic of China, to replace the Government Bank of Imperial China. It is the oldest bank in China...

in Hong Kong, and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Hong Kong Stock Exchange

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Hong Kong. It is Asia's third largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange and fifth largest in the world...

in October 2002. As of the end of 2003, the bank had HK$763 billion in assets and earned net profit of HK$8 billion in 2003. Its head office is in the Bank of China Tower in Central

Central, Hong Kong

Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon Peninsula...

.

BOCHK is one of the three banks which issue banknotes for Hong Kong

Hong Kong banknotes

The issue of banknotes of the Hong Kong dollar is governed in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority , the governmental currency board of Hong Kong. Under licence from the HKMA, three commercial banks issue their own banknotes for general circulation in...

, the biggest member and a founder of the JETCO

JETCO

JETCO is the biggest network of automatic teller machines in Hong Kong and Macau, with nearly 1,700 cash machines.-History:...

ATM and payment system, and the designated clearing

Clearing (finance)

In banking and finance, clearing denotes all activities from the time a commitment is made for a transaction until it is settled. Clearing is necessary because the speed of trades is much faster than the cycle time for completing the underlying transaction....

bank in Hong Kong for transactions involving the renminbi

Renminbi

The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...

, Mainland China

Mainland China

Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

's currency

Currency

In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

. It is legally separate from its parent, Bank of China

Bank of China

(BOC), although they maintain close relations in management and administration and cooperate in several areas including reselling BOC's insurance

Insurance

In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

and securities

Security (finance)

A security is generally a fungible, negotiable financial instrument representing financial value. Securities are broadly categorized into:* debt securities ,* equity securities, e.g., common stocks; and,...

services. It also shares its Hong Kong headquarters, the Bank of China Tower, with its parent; completed in 1988, this was the first building outside of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

to exceed 1,000 feet (300 m).

Bank of China Group

The opening of a branch of the Bank of China in Hong Kong in 1917 marked the entry of state-owned Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

banks into the then-colony's banking sector. Other banks soon followed suit, starting with Yien Yieh Commercial Bank

Yien Yieh Commercial Bank

Yien Yieh Commercial Bank was a bank in Hong Kong. It was established in Beijing in 1915 by Mr. Zhang Zhenfang , the cousin of Yuan Shikai, to specialize salt industry with official funds under government supervision...

in 1918. By the time the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

was established in 1949, there were 15 branches of state owned Chinese banks in Hong Kong, plus branches of nine Mainland-incorporated banks that were public-private joint venture

Joint venture

A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...

s. In addition, the Chinese government established Po Sang Bank

Po Sang Bank

Po Sang Bank was a bank established in 1949 in Hong Kong. All other banks operated by the Bank of China in the territory were merged into it in 2001, and the bank was renamed Bank of China ....

in 1949 and Nanyang Commercial Bank

Nanyang Commercial Bank

Nanyang Commercial Bank is a bank based in Hong Kong and a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of China , with 41 branches. NCB primarily focuses on corporate customers, in particular trading companies. However, since 2007 it has also taken over all of BOCHK's mainland business as well....

in 1950. Both of these were incorporated in Hong Kong.

In 1952, the nine public-private banks (namely, Sin Hua Bank Limited, China & South Sea Bank, Kincheng Banking Corporation

Kincheng Banking Corporation

Kincheng Banking Corporation or Kincheng Bank was a bank in Hong Kong. It was established in Tianjin in 1917 by Mr. Zhou Zuomin , Mr. Ni Sichong and Mr. Wang Zhilong...

, China State Bank Limited, The National Commercial Bank Limited, Yien Yieh Commercial Bank

Yien Yieh Commercial Bank

, Young Brothers Banking Corporation, Wo Sang Bank and National Industrial Bank of China

National Industrial Bank of China

National Industrial Bank of China was a bank established in September 1915 in Tianjin. It moved its headquarters to Shanghai in 1932. The bank merged with Bank of Communications in 1935, although its branch in Hong Kong remained in operations under the National Industrial Bank name until 1954....

) were grouped into the Joint Office of Joint Public-Private Banks. The Hong Kong branches of the last three of these nine were closed in 1954 when their parents were shut down by the central government, and management of the remaining six public-private banks were transferred to the Hong Kong and Macau Regional Office of the Bank of China in 1958. The Bank of China later took over management of the Hong Kong

Hong Kong

branches of Kwangtung Provincial Bank

Kwangtung Provincial Bank

The Kwangtung Provincial Bank was a bank latterly based in Hong Kong. Also known as the Provincial Bank of Kwangtung Province. The largest of the provincial banks, there were however a succession of at least seven distinct organisations functioning as The Kwangtung Provincial Bank from 1905...

, Hua Chiao Commercial Bank Limited and the Bank of Communications

Bank of Communications

Bank of Communications Limited , founded in 1908, is one of the largest banks in China.-Before 1949:The Bank of Communications was founded in 1908 and emerged as one of the first few major national and note-issuing banks in the early days of the Republic of China...

(HKSE: 3328).

In June 1975, the Bank of China moved to increase the capital of the public-private banks. As all of the new capital were from the Chinese government, private ownership in the public-private banks were substantially reduced, in some cases to less than 1%.

The 14 banks were rebranded as part of the Bank of China Group in the 1980s, after a common IT platform was established. Treasury and foreign currency exchange operations were also centralised. However, the individual banks retained their own management.

Restructuring and listing

The Hong Kong branch of the Bank of Communications broke off from the Bank of China Group in 1998. The Bank of China Group started to restructure its operations in 1999 in preparation for an initial public offering

Initial public offering

An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...

. All minority shareholders (except for those of Chiyu) were bought out by the Bank of China. Formal plans for a restructuring received the approval of the People's Bank of China

People's Bank of China

The People's Bank of China is the central bank of the People's Republic of China with the power to control monetary policy and regulate financial institutions in mainland China...

and were launched in January 2001.

The restructuring saw all operations of the Mainland-incorporated group members merged into Po Sang Bank, which was then immediately renamed Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited. Hong Kong incorporated Nanyang Commercial Bank and Chiyu Banking Corporation became subsidiaries of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited. Legislation was required for the merger, as Hong Kong does not allow mergers via the pooling of interests, a common procedure in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (Merger) Ordinance was approved by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong

Legislative Council of Hong Kong

The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...

on 12 July 2001, and the merger was completed on 1 October 2001.

Corporate structure and BOC Hong Kong Holdings

BOCHK is listed under the name of BOC Hong Kong (Holdings)

BOC Hong Kong (Holdings)

BOC Hong Kong Limited is the parent company and listed company of Bank of China Limited. It was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2002. It is currently one of the Hang Seng Index Constituent Stock .-References:...

Limited (BOCHK Holdings), a holding company

Holding company

A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...

whose principal, 100% owned subsidiary is BOCHK. The holding company is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and as ADRs

American Depositary Receipt

An American depositary receipt is a negotiable security that represents the underlying securities of a non-U.S. company that trades in the US financial markets...

in the US under the symbol BHKLY. BOCHK Holdings is a constituent of the Hang Seng Index

Hang Seng Index

The Hang Seng Index is a freefloat-adjusted market capitalization-weighted stock market index in Hong Kong. It is used to record and monitor daily changes of the largest companies of the Hong Kong stock market and is the main indicator of the overall market performance in Hong Kong...

. The listing of BOCHK Holdings in July 2002 listing was the first international stock listing by a Mainland China

Mainland China

bank; until that time, other Mainland Chinese bank listings were done in the domestic "A-share" market.

For the 12 months ended 31 December 2003, BOCHK Holdings earned HK$11.6 billion in operating income and HK$8.0 billion in net profit. As of 7 June 2006, 65.805% of BOCHK Holdings is held by Bank of China

Bank of China

, in turn 69.265% owned by Central Huijin Investment

Central Huijin Investment

Central Huijin Investment Ltd. established on December 26, 2003 is an investment company owned by the government of the People's Republic of China. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Investment Corporation with its own Board of Directors and Board of Supervisors. Central Huijin's principal...

, an investment holding company 100% owned by the Government of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

Operations

BOCHK offers a comprehensive range of financial products and services to retail and corporate customers, similar to those offered by most commercial banks. It is primarily known for its interest-income business (taking deposits from retail customers for loans to corporates) although it has been moving into other non-interest-income areas such as personal loans, wealth management and other financial services in recent years. It has Hong Kong's biggest branch network (over 200 branches) and 450 automatic teller machines.

BOCHK is the biggest mortgage lender in Hong Kong in the secondary market; Hang Seng Bank

Hang Seng Bank

Hang Seng Bank Limited is the second largest bank in Hong Kong. It is a listed company but it is majority owned by the HSBC Group via The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Hang Seng is also one of the constituent shares of the Hang Seng Index...

is the biggest in the primary market. BOCHK resells the casualty insurance

Casualty insurance

Casualty insurance, often equated to liability insurance, is used to describe an area of insurance not directly concerned with life insurance, health insurance, or property insurance. It is mainly used to describe the liability coverage of an individual or organization's for negligent acts or...

, life insurance

Life insurance

Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...

, mandatory provident fund (MPF) and asset management services of various subsidiaries of its parent, Bank of China

Bank of China

.

Within Mainland China

Mainland China

, BOCHK operates 14 branches separately from its parent. BOCHK is treated as a foreign bank, more properly, 境外銀行 (banks outside of the territory), for regulatory purposes as it is incorporated in Hong Kong. However, partly in order to clear up confusion between it and its parent in the mainland, it shifted all of its mainland-based business to Nanyang Commercial Bank in 2007.

Renminbi clearing bank

BOCHK has been the designated clearing bank for personal transactions involving the Renminbi

Renminbi

(RMB, the currency of Mainland China

Mainland China

) in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

since February 2004. This means that BOCHK acts as a settlement agent for RMB banknotes and funds in Hong Kong and an intermediary between banks in Hong Kong and the People's Bank of China

People's Bank of China

The People's Bank of China is the central bank of the People's Republic of China with the power to control monetary policy and regulate financial institutions in mainland China...

, the central bank

Central bank

A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...

of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

. In return, BOCHK takes a 0.125% cut of all RMB deposits in Hong Kong that are repatriated back to Mainland China.

The Chief Executive of Hong Kong

Chief Executive of Hong Kong

The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...

announced on 18 November 2003 that the People's Bank of China

People's Bank of China

The People's Bank of China is the central bank of the People's Republic of China with the power to control monetary policy and regulate financial institutions in mainland China...

had agreed to provide clearing arrangements, marking for the first time that the Renminbi, which is fully on the current account

Current account

In economics, the current account is one of the two primary components of the balance of payments, the other being the capital account. The current account is the sum of the balance of trade , net factor income and net transfer payments .The current account balance is one of two major...

but not on the capital account

Capital account

The current and capital accounts make up a country's balance of payment . Together these three accounts tell a story about the state of an economy, its economic outlook and its strategies for achieving its desired goals...

, has been allowed to clear outside of Mainland China

Mainland China

. The scope of such RMB business includes deposit-taking, exchange, remittances and RMB cards. Hong Kong banks were invited to apply to become the designated clearing bank for RMB business; the People's Bank of China subsequently chose BOCHK as the clearing bank, for a term of three years.

According to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Hong Kong Monetary Authority

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority or HKMA is Hong Kong's central banking institution . It is a government authority founded on 1 April 1993 via the consolidation of "Office of the Exchange Fund" and the "Office of the Commissioner of Banking"...

, the major responsibilities of the clearing bank are to:

open RMB settlement accounts for participating banks for the acceptance and withdrawal of RMB funds
open a settlement account with the PBOC's Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...

sub-branch to centralise the acceptance and withdrawal of RMB funds of the Clearing Bank and the participating banks
collect and distribute RMB banknotes
provide clearing services for RMB remittances and RMB cards issued by Hong Kong banks
provide services for the participating banks to square their RMB open positions that result from the exchange of RMB into Hong Kong dollars and vice versa.

Nanyang Commercial Bank

Founded in 1950 in Hong Kong, Nanyang Commercial Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary

Subsidiary

A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...

of BOCHK, with 41 branches. Nanyang primarily focuses on corporate customers, in particular small and medium sized trading and manufacturing companies. It also has a loyal following amongst the overseas Chinese community, especially in South East Asia. It relies on BOCHK for back-end office and IT

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

support. In 2007, it took over all of BOCHK's mainland operations, corporate and individual.

Chiyu Banking Corporation

Main articles: Chiyu Banking Corporation
Chiyu Banking Corporation
Chiyu Banking Corporation Limited is a bank incorporated in Hong Kong.- History :It was founded by Tan Kah Kee in 1947, and it has 23 branches in Hong Kong and focuses on serving the community of residents of Fujian descent in Hong Kong.Chiyu was explicitly created by Chen to create a sustainable...

and Jimei University
Jimei University
Jimei University is a public university located in Xiamen, Fujian, People's Republic of China.-History:Founded in 1918, Jimei University was the result of combining five institutes and colleges in the Jimei Schools Village...

Founded by Tan Kah Kee

Tan Kah Kee

Tan Kah Kee was a prominent businessman, community leader, and philanthropist in colonial Singapore, and a Communist leader in the People's Republic of China.- Early years :...

, an overseas Chinese

Overseas Chinese

Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....

in 1947, Chiyu Banking Corporation Limited has 23 branches in Hong Kong and focuses on serving the community of residents of Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

descent in Hong Kong.

Chiyu was explicitly created by Chen to create a sustainable business with profits to be devoted to education in Xiamen

Xiamen

Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...

and the rest of Fujian

Fujian

province in China. Since its founding, it has spent more than HK$1 billion in education in the province, primarily through funding Jimei University

Jimei University

Jimei University is a public university located in Xiamen, Fujian, People's Republic of China.-History:Founded in 1918, Jimei University was the result of combining five institutes and colleges in the Jimei Schools Village...

and its related schools.

JETCO

JETCO (traditional Chinese: 銀通) (Joint Electronic Teller Services Limited) is the biggest network of automatic teller machines in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

and Macau

Macau

Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

, with nearly 1,700 cash machines. JETCO was founded by BOCHK in 1982 along with the Bank of East Asia

Bank of East Asia

The Bank of East Asia Limited often abbreviated to BEA, is the largest independent local bank and the third largest bank in Hong Kong. Its chairman and chief executive is Sir David Li...

, Chekiang First Bank

Chekiang First Bank

Chekiang First Bank was a bank in Hong Kong. It is now merged to Wing Hang Bank. At the time of the merger with Wing Hang, Chekiang First Bank had 17 branches in Hong Kong, a wholly owned subsidiary in Luxembourg, an agency in San Francisco and a representative office in Shanghai. As of 31...

, Shanghai Commercial Bank

Shanghai Commercial Bank

The Shanghai Commercial Bank and its subsidiary companies are engaged in the provision of banking and related financial services in Hong Kong, United States, United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China. As a group, it employs over 1,790 people. The bank is a financial institution...

and Wing Lung Bank

Wing Lung Bank

Wing Lung Bank is a medium-sized bank based in Hong Kong. As of 2010, it has 39 branches, including one branch in Los Angeles and one branch in the Cayman Islands....

, and at present covers all licensed commercial banks in Hong Kong and Macau, except for HSBC and Hang Seng Bank

Hang Seng Bank

, which has their own system. JETCO's agreement with UnionPay has been terminated due to disagreements, leaving two choices for Hong Kong-based customers: get a UnionPay card, usable like any other on the mainland, or look for a Bank of East Asia ATM (Bank of East Asia has linked all of its mainland-based ATMs into the JETCO network) that can be used like any other JETCO ATM.

Other operations

BOCHK also owns a travel agency known as BOC Travel Services. This is a legacy from its acquisition of Nanyang Commercial Bank, which ran a travel agency for the convenience of its Southeast Asian customers.

Banknotes

Although not a central bank

Central bank

, BOCHK issues banknotes in Hong Kong. Under present arrangements, most Hong Kong dollar notes are not issued by a central bank or monetary authority, but by three specially licensed commercial banks, these being the Bank of China, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong)

Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong)

Standard Chartered Bank Limited is a licensed bank incorporated in Hong Kong, part of Standard Chartered Bank...

.

Bank of China started to issue Hong Kong dollar notes on 1 May 1994, under the name of "Bank of China Hong Kong Branch". Following the Bank's 2001 merger and restructuring, a new set of notes bearing the name "Bank of China (Hong Kong)" went into circulation in 2004. Under the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (Merger) Ordinance, banknotes issued by the Bank of China prior to its merger remained legal tender and became the obligations of Bank of China (Hong Kong).

As one of the three note-issuing banks, BOCHK is also a rotating chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Banks

Hong Kong Association of Banks

The Hong Kong Association of Banks is an association created based on a series of Bank Ordinances enacted since 1948. In 1981 the association was established and replaced the Exchange Bank Association...

, the main industry body of commercial banks in Hong Kong.

Bank of China Tower

The Bank of China Tower in Central

Central and Western District

The Central and Western District located on northern part of Hong Kong Island is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It had a population of 261,884 in 2001...

houses the headquarters of Bank of China Hong Kong. Designed by Ieoh Ming Pei, the 70-storey building's height is 315 meters with two masts reaching 369 meters. Construction began in 1985 and the building was completed in 1989, with its official opening on 17 May 1990.

Bank of China Tower was the first building outside North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

to break the 1000 feet (304.8 m) mark, the first composite space frame

Space frame

A space frame or space structure is a truss-like, lightweight rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with few interior supports...

high-rise building and was the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from 1989 to 1992. A small observation deck on the 43rd floor of the building is open to the public; visits to the main observation deck on the 70th floor is by appointment only.

The structural expressionism adopted in the design of this building resembles growing bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

shoots, symbolising livelihood and prosperity. While its distinctive look makes it one of Hong Kong's most identifiable landmarks today, it was the source of some controversy at one time, as the bank is the only major building in Hong Kong to have bypassed the convention of consulting with feng shui

Feng shui

Feng shui ' is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu ....

masters on matters of design prior to construction.

Corporate governance

One of the stated goals of the restructuring of BOCHK was to aggressively improve corporate governance

Corporate governance

Corporate governance is a number of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions which have impact on the way a company is controlled...

and risk management

Risk management

Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities...

. Issues regarding BOCHK's corporate governance were widely reported in 2003 and 2004 following allegations of misconduct. Investigations are continuing . BOCHK subsequently reorganised and tightened internal controls, and made several executive appointments via a global replacement effort.

Liu Jinbao

A former CEO of BOCHK, Liu Jinbao

Liu Jinbao

Liu Jinbao was a former CEO of Bank of China Limited and vice-chairman of Bank of China.Liu was abruptly transferred back to Beijing to become vice-chairman of Bank of China in May 2003...

, was abruptly transferred back to Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

to become vice-chairman of Bank of China in May 2003. Investigations subsequently found Liu to have "committed economic crimes" in connection with his previous appointment as the head of the Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

branch of the Bank of China. Liu was subsequently dismissed from his post. Liu, along with three other senior managers, were also alleged to have made "unauthorised distribution for personal purposes" of funds belonging to the Bank of China before BOCHK was established. The Standard
The Standard
The Standard is an English free newspaper of Hong Kong with a daily circulation of 231,018. It was called the Hong Kong Standard and changed to HKiMail during the Internet boom, but it changed back to The Standard in 2001....

speculated that the amount involved was HK$30 millions.

New Nongkai loan

A special committee appointed by BOC (Hong Kong) Holdings in consultation with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Hong Kong Monetary Authority

found that the granting of a HK$1.77 billion bridge loan to Chau Ching-ngai (sometimes referred to as Zhou Zhengyi depending on transliteration), involved risks identified at the start (that) were not addressed adequately and was granted despite serious reservations expressed by the Risk Management Department (BOCHK). Liu Jinbao

Liu Jinbao

Liu Jinbao was a former CEO of Bank of China Limited and vice-chairman of Bank of China.Liu was abruptly transferred back to Beijing to become vice-chairman of Bank of China in May 2003...

was criticised by the committee and a deputy CEO, Or Man-ah, took early retirement as a result.

External links

Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited
BOC (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited
BOC Credit Card (International)
BOC Travel Services
Reuters Quote, Bloomberg Quote for BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Limited.
Images of the 2004 issue of BOCHK bank notes can be seen at the homepage of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Bank of China Group

Restructuring and listing

Corporate structure and BOC Hong Kong Holdings

Operations

Renminbi clearing bank

Nanyang Commercial Bank

Chiyu Banking Corporation

JETCO

Other operations

Banknotes

Bank of China Tower

Corporate governance

Liu Jinbao

New Nongkai loan

See also

External links