Granting of restricted banking licence to E. Sun Commercial Bank, Ltd

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (11 February) that the Monetary Authority has granted a restricted banking licence to E. Sun Commercial Bank, Ltd (ESB) under the Banking Ordinance. This grant of banking licence took effect on 8 February 2002.

ESB is a bank in Taiwan with its shares listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange since August 1998. The bank has operated a representative office in Hong Kong since November 1998. According to The Banker, July 2001 issue, ESB ranks 19^th and 22^nd respectively in terms of tier one capital and total assets in Taiwan.

With the granting of a restricted banking licence to ESB, the number of restricted licensed banks in Hong Kong has increased to 50.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480 or
Sylvia Yip, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
11 February 2002