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Article: Asia: Hong Kong - Stepping Stone Into China - Karina Robinson Reports From Hong Kong On The Incorporated Banks' Mainland China Strategies.
- Article from:
- The Banker
- Article date:
- November 1, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 FT Business. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In July, Citigroup's Hong Kong business incorporated itself as a Hong Kong bank so that it could do business in China. At face value, that was not a big step but the bank's move encapsulates the main themes governing banks in the Special Administrative Region. Although profitable and still full of potential, the Hong Kong story is inseparable from the mainland China story. And the Chinese authorities, intent on maintaining Hong Kong as a showpiece, have made concessions that are helpful to the banks incorporated there.
Mainland banks are intent on upgrading their financial systems to world standards and foreign banks have a major role to play in this. Under the ...