The two sides have not yet submitted the application to the supervisor but hurdles have already been cleared, said a bank official.
The official also noted that HSBC would hold no more than a 20 per cent stake in the venture in the light of the upper-limit equity set for a foreign investor in Chinese financial institutions made by China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC). But HSBC has retained the right to raise its stake up to 50 per cent in the future.
A source close to the two banks disclosed that they are planning to inject the assets of the Pacific Credit Card Center, which was co-founded by the two banks in 2004, into the new venture.
China has no independent credit card company so far because the Administrative Measures on Bank Cards are yet to be promulgated, to define the nature and the threshold for setting up a card company.
But the new venture is expected to debut as an independent card company before the measure is launched, the source disclosed.
(XIC)

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