Granting of banking licence to HSBC Bank International Limited

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (Thursday) that the Monetary Authority has granted a banking licence to HSBC Bank International Limited (HBIL) under the Banking Ordinance. This grant of banking licence took effect on 30 April 2002.

HBIL, a bank incorporated in Jersey, is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc (HSBC). HSBC is one of the largest banking groups in the world. According to The Banker, July 2001 issue, HSBC ranked 5^th and 6^th respectively in terms of tier 1 capital and total assets in the world and 1^st in the UK in both terms.

With the granting of a banking licence to HBIL, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong has increased to 141.

For further enquiries, please contact:

Jasmin Fung, Manager (Press), at 2878 8246 or
Sylvia Yip, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
2 May 2002