AMTD Group established the Regional Bank+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance together with Zhongyuan Bank, Jiangxi Bank, Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank and Bank of Qingdao to promote the development of FinTech innovation
During 2018 Hong Kong FinTech Week, as the sole Strategic Partner of the event, AMTD Group, a leading Hong Kong-based comprehensive financial institution, announced the establishment of the Regional Bank+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance (“the Alliance”) together with Zhongyuan Bank (01216.HK), Jiangxi Bank (01916.HK), Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank (01551.HK) and Bank of Qingdao (03866.HK) in Hong Kong.
From left to right: Yi Xuefei, Vice Chairman and President of Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank; Dou Rongxing, Chairman of Zhongyuan Bank; Dr. Annie Wu Suk- ching, former Standing Committee Member of CPPCC National Committee, Lifetime Honorary Board Member of World Trade Centers Association, Honorary Consul of the United Republic of Tanzania in Hong Kong and Macau and Founder of Beijing Air Catering Co., Ltd., the first Sino-foreign joint venture company in China; Calvin Choi, Chairman and President of AMTD Group; Chen Xiaoming, Chairman of Jiangxi Bank; Lu Lan, Secretary to the Board & Executive Director of Bank of Qingdao; Charles d'Haussy, Head of FinTech of InvestHK and Dr Charles Lam, Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport Hong Kong
On October 31, the Inauguration Ceremony of the Regional Bank+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance was held during 2018 Hong Kong FinTech Week at the Hong Kong Stage, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. Calvin Choi, Chairman and President of AMTD Group, Dou Rongxing, Chairman of Zhongyuan Bank, Chen Xiaoming, Chairman of Jiangxi Bank, Yi Xuefei, Vice Chairman and President of Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank, and Lu Lan, Secretary to the Board & Executive Director of Bank of Qingdao attended the signing ceremony of the Alliance, jointly pressed the fingerprint and announced the establishment of the Regional Bank Strategic Cooperation Alliance. Dr. Annie Wu Suk-ching, former Standing Committee Member of CPPCC National Committee, Lifetime Honorary Board Member of World Trade Centers Association, Honorary Consul of the United Republic of Tanzania in Hong Kong and Macau and Founder of Beijing Air Catering Co., Ltd., the first Sino-foreign joint venture company in China, Charles d'Haussy, Head of FinTech, InvestHK, Dr Charles Lam, Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport Hong Kong, Rachel Freeman, Advisory Manager, Financial Institutions Group, Asia Pacific of International Finance Corporation and other guests also witnessed the ceremony as officiating guests.
Calvin Choi, Chairman and President of AMTD Group and the initiator of the Regional Bank Strategic Cooperation Alliance
Calvin Choi, Chairman and President of AMTD Group and the initiator of the Regional Bank+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance, expressed his gratitude to other founding members of the Regional Bank+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance for their trust and support. In recent years, as more and more outstanding Chinese regional banks have been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, regional banks have become one of the representatives of leading Chinese financial institutions in Hong Kong's international capital markets. With the development of the “Belt and Road” initiative and the construction of the Greater Bay Area, the exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and regional banks in different areas across the country are getting closer and closer, and more opportunities are brought by interconnection. Different regional banks have also made full use of international capital markets in Hong Kong to achieve leap-forward innovation and development. In order to better link the communication between Hong Kong and China's leading regional banks and to promote international cooperation and resource integration among different regional banks, AMTD jointly launched the Regional Bank+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance, hoping to grasp the historical opportunity to construct Hong Kong smart city and the Greater Bay Area, to leverage resources from multiple parties, to promote cooperation and communication and to boost the innovative development of fintech, smart finance, inclusive finance as well as green finance using the platform built by the Alliance.
Calvin Choi (second right back), Chairman and President of AMTD Group, Dou Rongxing (second left back), Chairman of Zhongyuan Bank, Chen Xiaoming (first right back), Chairman of Jiangxi Bank, and Yi Xuefei (first left back), Vice Chairman and President of Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank, witnessed the Alliance signing ceremony completed by Marcellus Wong (third left front), Vice Chairman of AMTD Group, Zhang Ke (second left front), Board Secretary of Zhongyuan Bank, Xu Jihong (second right front), Vice President and Board Secretary of Jiangxi Bank, Cai Huiran (first right front), Chief Information Officer of Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank, and Lu Lan (first left front), Secretary to the Board & Executive Director of Bank of Qingdao
During the speech of council members, Calvin Choi, Chairman and President of AMTD Group and initiator of Regional Bank+Strategic Cooperation Alliance, further mentioned that the Alliance will be dedicated to promoting the international collaboration and resources sharing among regional banks from four aspects. Firstly, the Alliance provides members with a financial cooperation platform that connects them with international capital markets and promotes mutual assistance and interconnection as well as a full range of specialized international capital market services for their all-around development especially in the communication and cultivation of international talents. Secondly, aimed to construct Hong Kong smart city and develop technological innovation, the Alliance will build a technological innovation communication and collaboration platform to continuously strengthen the FinTech link between mainland China and Hong Kong and enable banks to embrace technological innovation. Thirdly, a finance research think tank will be created and the Alliance will actively study the policies and conditions in estuary of “Belt and Road” initiative and strategic center of the Greater Bay Area, gather resources intelligence as well as data information and publish the results of regional economic and financial issues. Last but not the least, the Alliance will fully make us of Hong Kong’s advantages in investment banking, asset management and global capital markets as international financial center and strengthen the communication and collaboration with international financial institutions and investment companies.
Calvin Choi (third left), Chairman and President of AMTD Group, Dou Rongxing (second left), Chairman of Zhongyuan Bank, Chen Xiaoming (second right), Chairman of Jiangxi Bank, Yi Xuefei (first left), Vice Chairman and President of Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank, and Lu Lan (first right), Secretary to the Board & Executive Director of Bank of Qingdao took a group photo after completing the signing ceremony of the Alliance
Representatives of the Regional Bank+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance’s founding council members, Dou Rongxing, Chairman of Zhongyuan Bank, Chen Xiaoming, Chairman of Jiangxi Bank, Yi Xuefei, Vice Chairman and President of Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank, and Lu Lan, Secretary to the Board & Executive Director of Bank of Qingdao, said that they were glad to contribute to the establishment of the Regional Bank+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance as founding members. The establishment of the Regional Bank+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance is of great significance to the development of Chinese regional banks in international capital markets, to the construction of Hong Kong smart city and the Greater Bay Area and to the innovative integration of fintech companies and traditional financial institutions. The four founding members of the Alliance are highly influential and representative, covering the Greater Bay Area, the Central Plains, Jiangxi and Shandong Economic Zones, and are all listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with total assets exceeding RMB 2 trillion. There are currently 162 city commercial banks and 976 rural commercial banks in China, covering all aspects of China’s financial systems, which could be a very huge power and broad market space in financial industry. In the future, the Alliance will also attract more representative Chinese regional banks and continuously grow as well as expand.
The Regional Bank+ Strategic Cooperation Alliance is a financial cooperation and communication platform as well as economic and social organization initiated by AMTD Group, a comprehensive financial institution in Hong Kong, and jointly established by several leading Chinese regional banks including Zhongyuan Bank, Bank of QingDao, Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank and Jiangxi Bank. Rooted in China and embracing openness as well as inclusiveness, the Alliance is based on major Chinese regional banks (including city commercial banks and rural commercial banks) and other strategically cooperated financial institutions and welcomes other similar global institutions and partners. The purpose of the Alliance is “Connected Cooperation, Group Assistance, Innovation and Development”. Under the premise of complying with relevant laws and regulations as well as economic and financial policies, the Alliance operates with the principle of “Leading Innovation, Reciprocity, Fairness, Openness, and Independence”, safeguards the common interests of the Alliance members, empowers the traditional financial business to be promoted by fintech, develops the new model of fintech, smart finance, inclusive finance and green finance, as well as promotes the international innovation development of the Alliance members.
The initiator of the Alliance, AMTD Group, is a leading comprehensive financial institution in Asia, has been deeply involved in international capital markets for many years and has extensive experience and sufficient resources in serving the development of various Chinese financial institutions in international capital markets. The joint establishers of the Alliance are the leading regional banking financial institutions that are listed in Hong Kong Exchange and are the leaders and representatives of Chinese banks, especially of regional banks in the Hong Kong capital market.
