Bank of China (Hong Kong) facts for kids
 |
|
Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong
|
|
| public | |
| Traded as |
|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded |
|
| Headquarters | Bank of China Tower, Central, |
|
Key people
|
Ge Haijiao, Chairman Sun Yu, Vice chairman and Chief Executive |
| Products | Retail banking, commercial banking, investment banking, mortgage loans, private banking, wealth management, credit cards, finance and insurance |
|
Operating income
|
 HKD58.4 billion (2019) |
| HKD34.1 billion (2019) |
|
| Total assets | HKD3,026 billion (2019) |
|
Number of employees
|
14,832 (2022) |
| Parent | Bank of China |
| Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 中國銀行(香港)有限公司 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中国银行(香港)有限公司 | ||||||||||
| Jyutping | zung1 gwok3 ngan4 hong4 (hoeng1 gong2) jau5 haan6 gung1 si1 | ||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中銀香港 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中银香港 | ||||||||||
| Jyutping | zung1 ngan4 hoeng1 gong2 | ||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (Chinese: 中國銀行(香港)有限公司), often called BOCHK (Chinese: 中銀香港), is a very important bank in Hong Kong. It's part of the bigger Bank of China family. BOCHK is one of the largest banks in Hong Kong when you look at its money and customer savings.
It has over 190 branches all over Hong Kong. BOCHK is also one of only three banks allowed to print real money (banknotes) for the Hong Kong dollar.
Even though BOCHK is part of the Bank of China, it runs as its own company. They work closely together, especially in offering services like insurance. BOCHK is also a big part of the JETCO ATM network. It's also the special bank in Hong Kong that helps other banks handle money from Mainland China, called Renminbi (RMB).
BOCHK was created on October 1, 2001. This happened when 12 smaller banks that were part of the Bank of China in Hong Kong joined together. A year later, in October 2002, BOCHK became a publicly traded company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Its main office is in the tall Bank of China Tower in Central, Hong Kong. This famous building was finished in 1988 and was once the tallest building outside North America.
Contents
A Look at BOCHK's History
How the Bank of China Group Started
The Bank of China opened its first branch in Hong Kong in 1917. This was the start of Chinese government-owned banks coming to Hong Kong. Other banks soon followed. By 1949, there were 15 branches of state-owned Chinese banks in Hong Kong. The Chinese government also started two new banks in Hong Kong: Po Sang Bank in 1949 and Nanyang Commercial Bank in 1950.
In 1952, nine other banks that were partly owned by the government and partly by private companies joined together. Later, some of these banks closed. The remaining banks were managed by the Bank of China.
In the 1980s, these 14 banks became known as the Bank of China Group. They started using the same computer systems and worked together more closely. This helped them become the second-largest banking group in Hong Kong.
Becoming a Public Company
In 1998, one of the banks, the Bank of Communications, left the Bank of China Group. The Bank of China Group then started to change how it worked in 1999. This was to get ready to offer its shares to the public. In 2001, all the smaller banks that were part of the group joined together into Po Sang Bank. This bank was then renamed Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited.
Special laws were needed for this merger to happen in Hong Kong. The merger was completed on October 1, 2001.
How BOCHK is Organized
Bank of China (Hong Kong) is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. This means you can buy shares in the company. It's listed through its parent company, BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Limited. This holding company owns 100% of BOCHK.
BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) is a part of the Hang Seng Index, which is a list of the biggest companies on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. When BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) was listed in 2002, it was the first time a bank from Mainland China was listed on an international stock exchange.
At the end of 2019, BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) made HKD58.4 billion in income. Most of BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) is owned by the Bank of China Group. The Bank of China Group is mostly owned by a company called Central Huijin Investment, which is fully owned by the Chinese government.
What BOCHK Does
BOCHK offers many different money services for regular people and businesses. It's known for making money from loans, where it takes money from people's savings and lends it to companies. In recent years, it has also started offering more services like personal loans and helping people manage their money.
BOCHK has the biggest network of branches in Hong Kong. At the end of 2019, it had about 190 branches, 280 automated banking centers, and over 1,000 automatic teller machines.
BOCHK is also one of the main banks that offer home loans in Hong Kong. Other big banks that do this include HSBC and Hang Seng Bank.
BOCHK used to have branches in Mainland China. However, in 2007, it moved all its business in Mainland China to its subsidiary, Nanyang Commercial Bank. This helped avoid confusion with its parent company, the Bank of China, which is also in Mainland China.
Handling Chinese Money (Renminbi)
Since February 2004, BOCHK has been the special bank in Hong Kong for handling personal transactions with the Renminbi (CNY), which is the money used in Mainland China. This means BOCHK helps other banks in Hong Kong exchange and manage RMB funds. It also acts as a link between Hong Kong banks and the People's Bank of China, which is China's central bank.
In 2003, the Hong Kong government announced that the People's Bank of China agreed to let Hong Kong banks handle Renminbi. This was a big step because it was the first time the Renminbi could be easily used outside Mainland China. Hong Kong banks could apply to become the special clearing bank, and BOCHK was chosen for three years.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority says the main jobs of the clearing bank are to:
- Help other banks open accounts for RMB money.
- Work with the People's Bank of China to manage RMB funds.
- Collect and give out RMB banknotes.
- Help with RMB transfers and RMB cards from Hong Kong banks.
- Help banks balance their RMB money when they exchange it for Hong Kong dollars.
Nanyang Commercial Bank
Nanyang Commercial Bank was started in Hong Kong in 1950. It is fully owned by BOCHK and has 42 branches. Nanyang Commercial Bank mainly works with businesses, especially small and medium-sized trading and manufacturing companies. It's also popular with Chinese people living overseas, especially in Southeast Asia. BOCHK helps Nanyang Commercial Bank with its back-office work and computer systems. In 2007, Nanyang Commercial Bank took over all of BOCHK's business in Mainland China.
Chiyu Banking Corporation
Chiyu Banking Corporation was started in 1947 by Tan Kah Kee, a Chinese businessman living overseas. It has 23 branches in Hong Kong and mainly serves people of Fujian descent in Hong Kong.
Tan Kah Kee created Chiyu Bank to make money that would be used to support education in Xiamen and the rest of Fujian province in China. Since it started, the bank has given over HK$1 billion to education in the province, mostly by funding Jimei University and its related schools.
In 2017, BOCHK sold Chiyu Bank.
JETCO ATM Network
JETCO (Chinese: 銀通) is the largest network of automatic teller machines (ATMs) in Hong Kong and Macau. It has almost 3,000 ATMs. JETCO was started in 1982 by BOCHK and four other banks. Today, it includes almost all licensed banks in Hong Kong and Macau, except for HSBC and Hang Seng Bank, which have their own ATM system.
Other Services
BOCHK also owns a travel agency called BOC Travel Services. This travel agency came from its purchase of Nanyang Commercial Bank, which had a travel agency for its customers from Southeast Asia.
BOCHK in Southeast Asia
Brunei
In 2016, BOCHK opened a branch in Brunei. This made it the first Chinese bank to open a branch in that country.
Hong Kong Banknotes
Even though BOCHK is not a central bank, it prints banknotes in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, most Hong Kong dollar notes are printed by three special commercial banks. These are the Bank of China, HSBC, and Standard Chartered Bank.
The Bank of China started printing Hong Kong dollar notes on May 1, 1994. After the bank merged and changed its name in 2001, new notes with the name "Bank of China (Hong Kong)" started to be used in 2004. The old banknotes printed by the Bank of China before the merger are still valid and are now the responsibility of Bank of China (Hong Kong).
As one of the three banks that print money, BOCHK also takes turns being the chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Banks. This is the main group for commercial banks in Hong Kong.
The Bank of China Tower
The Bank of China Tower in Central is where the main office of Bank of China Hong Kong is located. It was designed by a famous architect named Ieoh Ming Pei. This building has 70 floors and is 315 meters tall, with two spires reaching 369 meters. Construction started in 1985 and was finished in 1989. It officially opened on May 17, 1990.
The Bank of China Tower was the first building outside North America to be taller than 1,000 feet (300 meters). It was also the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from 1989 to 1992. There is a small viewing area on the 43rd floor that is open to the public. You can visit the main viewing deck on the 70th floor by making an appointment.
The building's unique design looks like growing bamboo shoots. This design is meant to represent life and good fortune. Its special look makes it one of Hong Kong's most recognizable landmarks today.
|
