Tung Congratulates BOC (HK) for Successful Restructuring

Tung Congratulates BOC (HK) for Successful Restructuring

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa on Tuesday extended warmest congratulation to the former Bank of China Group for its successful restructuring and the establishment of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Speaking at the inauguration reception of the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd., Tung said the establishment of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd. in Hong Kong is "significant in the development history of the local banking sector." "It will certainly sustain and enhance the stability and growth of the local financial markets and the role of Hong Kong as an international financial center," he noted.

The trend of financial globalization has made it necessary for Hong Kong to speed up the growth of its financial industry and increase its competitive strength in the world, Tung said.

He said that with China's accession to WTO, "Hong Kong should make good use of every opportunity to demonstrate our unique strengths as a major player in the international financial market.

" "This will form the foundation stone to support the economic growth and social development of China as a whole and Hong Kong in particular," he said.

Liu Mingkang, president of the BOC, said the restructured entity will take advantage of China's entry into the WTO and the strong financial support from the Bank of China to seek greater development and make more contributions to the growth of local financial sector.

Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd., which started operation on October 3 after combining ten banks under the former BOC Group in Hong Kong, is Hong Kong's second largest banking group, with a total asset of 820 billion HK dollars (105 billion U.S. dollars).