Standard Chartered HK Applies for Chinese Broker License

The Hong Kong arm of Standard Chartered Bank is seeking a brokerage license from the authorities in mainland China.

This was reported by local media outlet, Xinhua on Monday. This came after the Chinese government scrapped the foreign ownership limit on securities firms and mutual funds for foreign investors on April 1, which was a part of the Sino-US trade deal signed between the countries in January.

Further, the report outlined that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the country’s securities market regulator, accepted Standard Chartered Hong Kong’s application on October 10.

Additionally, the London-headquartered banking giant confirmed to Reuters about the licensing application and highlighted that it was the part of the bank’s plans to expand its offshore presence.

Standard Chartered bank faced some backlash earlier this year after backing the controversial Chinese national security law in Hong Kong, which led to a drop in its share prices at home.

Asian Expansion

Meanwhile, the bank is aggressively strengthening its Asian business with key hires as well. As Finance Magnates reported, Standard Chartered transferred Anthony Lin from Taiwan to head its Greater Bay Area business.

Moreover, it reshuffled its retail banking management in Hong Kong with the hiring of Lay Choo Ong as head of retail and moving its previous retail head, Vicky Kong to the top of global wealth proposition.

Last month, Standard Chartered launched a virtual bank in Hong Kong with the partnership of two Hong Kong-based telcos, PCCW and HKT, and online travel agent Trip.com.