Philippine Central Bank approves license for Bank of ChinaThe Philippine Central Bank provisionally approved Wednesday in Manila a license for the Bank of China to set up a branch in Manila, a step intended to open the door for a Philippine bank to operate in China.A member of the central bank's monetary board said the license approval was subject to reciprocity. Two Philippine banks -- Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. belonging to businessman George Ty and Allied Banking Corp. owned by tycoon Lucio Tan -- are seeking licenses to operate in China. Bank of China, one of the big four banks owned by the Chinese government, is the biggest foreign exchange bank in China. Its international operation is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Bank of China will receive the license previously given to the Development Bank of Singapore, one of 10 foreign banks allowed to open a branch in the Philippines in 1994 after the government liberalized the banking industry. DBS surrendered its license last year after it acquired a 60 percent stake in domestic company Bank of Southeast Asia. Recently, DBS also bought a substantial stake in Bank of the Philippine Islands. |
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