Two more private commercial banks (PCBs) are going to set up representative offices in Hong Kong with no objection from the central bank, officials said.
The PCBs are Exim Bank Ltd and The City Bank Ltd.
"We've issued no-objection certificates to the PCBs for establishing the representative offices in Hong Kong," a senior Bangladesh Bank (BB) official told the FE.
The central bank issued the no-objection certificate to City Bank on Sunday, according to the BB official.
The Exim Bank received such certificate last week, sources at both Exim Bank and the central bank said.
The banks will have to apply to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, asking for permission to set up representative offices in the Chinese special administrative region.
"We want to facilitate foreign trade by offering different products to exporters and importers through an office in the global financial hub," said Mashrur Arefin, City Bank additional managing director.
The City Bank will seek Hong Kong's permission to set up the representative office shortly, Mr Arefin, also chief communications officer of the PCB, told the FE.
Earlier, Prime Bank, Eastern Bank and AB Bank expanded their overseas businesses through establishing such offices in Hong Kong.
The PCB trio is making profits from their offices in Hong Kong, according to the banking sector insiders.
Representative offices help strengthen business activities, particularly in China, the No. one trading partner of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh imported goods worth $10.19 billion from China, which was 25.2 per cent of its total imports, in fiscal year 2016-17.
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