Tencent and Alibaba granted “milestone” licences

Tencent and Alibaba, China’s biggest technology groups  have been granted milestone licences  by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to  launch digital banks in Hong Kong threatening traditional HSBC and Standard Chartered banks.  Xiaomi the world’s fourth largest smartpone maker and Ping An the world’s largest insurer,  also was included in what city’s banking regulator’s  called  a “milestone”. Traditional banks wants to defend themselves against encroachment from tech companies such as Amazon, Google and  Apple, by lobbying financial regulators to hold their new tech competitors to the same data protection, cyber security and capital standards.

Tencent and Alibaba are ready to grab $15bn  or 30  per cent, of the territory’s total banking revenue.

HSBC did not apply for  a digital banking licence, unlike StanChart, who likes to expand its existing digital platforms.