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Fujian's first private bank to land in Pingtan

( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2016-12-19

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Huatong Bank is set to become the first private bank to be established in Fujian province after the move received the approval of China's banking regulator, China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), Pingtan Times reported.

The new bank, which has registered capital of 2.4 billion yuan ($348.4 million), has been jointly set up by eight famous Fujian companies with businesses spanning multiple fields including retail, manufacturing, education and real estate.

The bank's two main backers, supermarket chain Yonghui Superstores and conglomerate Yango Holdings Group, have invested 660 million yuan and 630 million yuan in Huatong respectively and hold 27.5 percent and 26.25 percent of its shares.

According to related media reports, Huatong Bank is designed to be a new type of bank which will offer a combination of online service and offline experience.

Huatong is also reported to be planning to focus on financial technology, as opposed to China's previously approved private banks, which have tended to concentrate on serving small- and micro-sized enterprises.

China has seen a rapid increase of private banks since March 2014, and Huatong Bank is expected to become the tenth one in the country.

The new bank will be headquartered in Pingtan, the island city that is also houses part of the Fujian Free Trade Zone.

According to Chen Wensheng, director of Huatong Bank's preparatory committee, Pingtan's policy advantages made it an ideal base for the new bank. "As both a comprehensive pilot zone and a free trade zone, Pingtan has prominent taxation and financial policy advantages," he said.

The bank is entitled to benefit from a number of preferential policies rolled out by Pingtan to boost the development of the area's financial sector, according to Yang Anzhe, deputy director of the financial service office of Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone.