Granting of banking licence to Hong Leong Bank Berhad

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today that the Monetary Authority has granted a banking licence to Hong Leong Bank Berhad (HLB) under the Banking Ordinance. This grant of banking licence took effect on 12 January 2004.

HLB is a bank incorporated in Malaysia. According to The Banker, July 2003 issue, HLB was the 6^th largest bank in Malaysia in terms of both tier 1 capital and total assets. It is the 418^th largest bank in the world in terms of tier 1 capital.

With the grant of a banking licence to HLB, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong has increased to 135.

For further enquiries, please contact:
Kevin Ip, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
13 January 2004