Tencent seeks innovation with Qianhai bank

Tencent is scouting for innovation opportunities in Internet finance in the Qianhai Economic Zone in Shenzhen as the company has won the license to set up a private bank.

"Tencent will initiate the establishment of a privately-owned bank in Qianhai, Shenzhen," the Internet giant said in a statement yesterday. Qianhai has been picked as a special economic zone in Shenzhen to boost cross-border trade and investment with Hong Kong.

Tencent, whose private bank proposal is currently being reviewed by the China Banking Regulatory Commission, will leverage its advantage in the Internet industry to focus on online finance innovation to better serve its users more efficiently, according to the statement.

Tencent is hiring senior managers to develop the new bank's strategy, China National Radio said on its website yesterday, citing unnamed sources from the Shenzhen Financial Services Office which, however, didn't comment.

Chen Zhiwu, professor of finance at the Yale School of Management, said at the Boao Forum last week that private banks should operate in regions that lack financial services and where state-owned banks don't have a presence. He suggested Gansu, Yunnan and Shaanxi provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The State Council has approved the program to set up five private banks in Shanghai, Tianjin and the provinces of Guangdong and Zhejiang.