Bank of Communications (BOCOM) has become the latest big state-owned lender in China to establish its own fintech vehicle, bringing the number of such subsidiaries in the Chinese banking system to 12 in total.
BOCOM announced on 25 August that it had established fintech subsidiary BOCOM Fintech Co., Ltd. (交银金融科技有限公司) in Shanghai’s Nanhui New City with registered capital of 600 million yuan.
BOCOM Fintech’s main operations will include software R&D, tech consulting and innovation and information system services.
Li Haining (李海宁), BOCOM’s chief IT specialist and head of its IT department, will serve as the chair of BOCOM Fintech.
BOCOM’s annual report indicates that in 2019 its IT investments were 5.045 billion yuan, for a YoY rise of 22.94%. This investment accounted for 2.57% of operating revenues, for a rise of 0.38 percentage points compared to the previous year.
“BOCOM Fintech will have its basis in the group, service clients and improve the overall service capability of the group’s technology,” said BOCOM in a statement.
“[It] will upgrade independent support capability for core technology, and expedite in-depth integration between the group and external ecosystems.”
The move brings the total number of fintech subsidiaries established by Chinese banks to 12 in total.
Fintech subsidiaries of Chinese banks as of August 2020
| No. | Bank | Fintech subsidiary | Chinese name of fintech subsidiary | Time of establishment | Location | Registered capital |
| 1 | Bank of China | Bank of China Fintech Company | 中银金融科技公司 | June 2019 | Shanghai | 600 million yuan |
| 2 | Bank of Beijing | Bank of Beijing Fintech Limited Liability Company | 北银金融科技有限责任公司 | May 2019 | Beijing | 50 million yuan |
| 3 | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China | ICBC Tech Co., Ltd. | 工银科技有限公司 | May 2019 | Xiong’an New District | 600 million yuan |
| 4 | China Minsheng Bank | Minsheng Keji Co., Ltd. | 民生科技有限公司 | April 2018 | Beijing | 200 million yuan |
| 5 | China Construction Bank | Jianxin Fintech Co., Ltd. | 建信金融科技有限责任公司 | April 2018 | Shanghai | 1.6 billion yuan |
| 6 | China Everbright Bank | Everbright Technology Co., Ltd. | 光大科技有限公司 | December 2016 | Beijing | 200 million yuan |
| 7 | China Merchants Bank | Zhaoyin Yunchuang (Shenzhen) Information Technology Co,. Ltd. | 招引云创（深圳）信息技术有限公司 | February 2016 | Shenzhen | 65 million yuan |
| 8 | Ping An Bank | Shanghai OneConnect Fintech Co., Ltd. | 上海壹账通金融科技有限公司 | December 2015 | Shanghai | 1.2 billion yuan |
| 9 | Industrial Bank Co., Ltd. | Industrial Bank Digital Financial Services (Shanghai) Share Company Limited | 兴业数字金融服务（上海）股份有限公司 | December 2015 | Shanghai | 500 million yuan |
| 10 | Huaxia Bank | Longying Zhida | 龙盈智达 | May 2019 | Shenzhen | 21 million yuan |
| 11 | Agricultural Bank of China | ABC Tech | 农银科技 | July 2020 | Beijing | 600 million yuan |
| 12 | BOCOM | BOCOM Fintech Co., Ltd. | 交银金融科技有限公司 | August 2020 | Shanghai | 600 million yuan |
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