Granting of banking licence to FAR EASTERN INTERNATIONAL BANK

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today that the Monetary Authority has granted a banking licence to FAR EASTERN INTERNATIONAL BANK (FEIB) under the Banking Ordinance. This grant of banking licence took effect on 27 October 2005.

Incorporated in Taiwan, FEIB has maintained a local representative office since December 1999. According to the July 2005 issue of The Banker, FEIB ranked 27^th in Taiwan and 636^th in the world in terms of tier-1 capital.

After the granting of a banking licence to FEIB, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong has increased to 132.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Jasmin Fung, Manager (Press), at 2878 8246 or
Hing-Fung Wong, Resource Co-ordinator, at 2878 1802

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
28 October 2005