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James Orme writes:

The race to disrupt Hong Kong's traditional banking sector is heating up with four new major companies winning licenses to create virtual banks in the city.

The latest players to be granted licenses are Tencent Holdings Ltd., Ant Financial, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Xiaomi Corp. The latest approvals follow three licenses granted in March to a variety of joint ventures backed by the likes of Standard Chartered, Ctrip and ZhongAn.

Tencent is partnering with ICBC's Hong Kong Unit, HKEX, Hillhouse Capital and Perfect Ridge in a venture called Infinium Ltd. Xiaomi and Ant received their permits via local entities.

The four virtual banks plan to launch their services in six to nine months. In a statement, HKMA said it will "closely monitor" their operations once they have commenced business.

Norman Chan, chief executive of the HKMA, said: "We are pleased to grant four more virtual banking licences today. The HKMA is now working closely with the 8 virtual bank licensees to prepare for the launch of their business operations in accordance with their plans."

Source: https://techerati.com/news-hub/tencent-and-ant-financial-latest-firms-to-be-awarded-virtual-banking-licenses-in-hong-kong/

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