Hong Kong’s banking regulator and de-facto central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, has granted a banking licence to Bank of Communication Hong Kong, taking the total number of banks licenced in the jurisdiction to 157.

The banking licence that was granted to BOCOM Hong Kong Limited took effect yesterday. BoCom(HK) is a wholly-owned banking subsidiary of Bank of Communications Co, which is mainland China’s fifth-largest lender and the 17th biggest bank worldwide when ranked by Tier 1 capital, the HKMA said.