Granting of deposit-taking company registration to WOORI GLOBAL MARKETS ASIA LIMITED

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (Tuesday) that the Monetary Authority has registered WOORI GLOBAL MARKETS ASIA LIMITED (WGMA) as a deposit-taking company under the Banking Ordinance. The registration took effect on 29 September 2006.

WGMA was incorporated in Hong Kong. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Woori Bank. Woori Bank is the third largest bank in South Korea and it has a branch in Hong Kong.

After the granting of a deposit-taking company registration to WGMA, the number of deposit-taking companies in Hong Kong has increased to 34.

For further enquiries, please contact:
Hing-fung Wong, Officer (Press), at 2878 1802 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
3 October 2006