According to the source, Citi won preliminary approval in January 2012 to set up a joint-venture securities firm with Shanghai-based financial advisory company Orient Securities, which is set to be based in Shanghai and licensed for the investment banking business.
China’s credit card market has so far been restricted to a single card-processing company, China Union Pay, whereas Hong Kong’s Bank of East Asia is the only bank from outside the mainland to issue credit cards. Other companies such as UK-based financial services provider HSBC and Citigroup have been supporting credit card issuance by mainland partners for a number of years.
HSBC has a co-branded card business with Bank of Communications where the UK-listed bank provides the technical and administrative operations. Citi has a deal to support card issuance by its partner financial institution Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB).
Citi has agreed with SPDB that its mainland partner would continue to issue cards under its own brand when Citi launched its own venture, the same source reports.
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