The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced Friday that it has granted a banking license to Citibank (Hong Kong) Limited (CHKL) to be effective on Oct. 28, 2004.

CHKL is incorporated in Hong Kong and was authorized as a restricted license bank on June 28, 2004. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Citibank, N.A. ("Citibank") which is a bank incorporated in the United States and operates a branch in Hong Kong.

According to The Bankers, July 2004 issue, Citigroup was the largest banking group in the world in terms of tier 1 capital.

According to its plan, Citibank will subsidize part of its Hong Kong operations. In this regard, Citibank will transfer the consumer banking business of its Hong Kong branch to CHKL by means of a Private Member's Bill.

The grant of a banking license to CHKL allows it to take up the consumer banking business.

With the granting of a banking license to CHKL, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong has increased to 134. Accordingly, the number of restricted license banks has been reduced to 41.

Source: Xinhua