People walk along a promenade along Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong on July 11, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

Hong Kong-based Dah Sing Bank is reinforcing its business presence in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, banking on the increasing demand for cross-border finance among businesses and a growing number of affluent individuals.

The bank on Tuesday announced the opening of its new Shenzhen branch in Qianhai, a special economic zone featuring Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation, making it the first offshore bank on the mainland with a dual operating license. Besides the local branch, it also runs a wholly-owned subsidiary bank in Shenzhen.

A high-level delegation comprising about 60 representatives from among mainland banks’ senior executives and lawmakers is expected to pay a three-day visit to Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Dongguan from Wednesday

“Dah Sing Bank has been focused on growing our business on the Chinese mainland. In particular, we have placed much emphasis on growth in the Greater Bay Area where our three banks in Hong Kong, Macao and the mainland are headquartered,” said Harold Wong, managing director and chief executive of the 76-year-old bank.

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“The opening of our new Shenzhen branch provides an added capability to serve our customers, in particular by leveraging the favorable cross-border financing environment in the Greater Bay Area and the synergies created by the dual operating license.”

According to the bank’s executives, its Shenzhen branch and subsidiary bank will serve different functions, with the former focusing on offering financial services for larger enterprises and the latter on small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals.

“By fully leveraging the offshore RMB capital pool of the Hong Kong headquarters, the Shenzhen branch will play an active role in promoting the internationalization of RMB,” Connie Chen, head of the branch, said.

The launch of the Hong Kong lender’s Shenzhen branch comes as the special administrative region is stepping up efforts to promote cross-border financial cooperation with mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area.

A high-level delegation comprising about 60 representatives from among mainland banks’ senior executives and lawmakers is expected to pay a three-day visit to Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Dongguan from Wednesday.

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Sources said the delegation, with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Eddie Yue Wai-man and Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Hui Ching-yu acting as honorary heads of the group, will discuss how to strengthen cross-border financial cooperation with their mainland counterparts, for example, expanding the investment scope and enhancing individuals’ investment quota of the cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect program.

Cross-border data flows could also be on their agenda, they said.

The delegation is expected to meet with government officials of Guangdong and Shenzhen, financial regulators and senior executives of local banks. It may also visit an enterprise in Dongguan, probably Huawei’s base there, and Guangzhou Automobile Group’s manufacturing base in Guangzhou’s Panyu district.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com