Melli Bank London Plc, a subsidiary of Bank Melli Iran, will soon obtain permission for restarting branch in Hong Kong, Abdolnasser Hemmati, BMI’s chief executive said Tuesday.
He made the comments at a meeting with officials from the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce as well as representatives from some Chinese multinational companies in Tehran.
“Bank Melli used to play a key role in Iran-Hong Kong commercial relations,” Hemmati said. He called on banks and financial institutions in China, Hong Kong and western countries to restore normal working relations with Iran,” banker.ir reported.
Andrew R Wells, chairman of HKGC’s Asia and Africa Committee stressed the importance of strengthening ties with BMI, saying that many companies in Hong Kong are keen on doing business with Iran, which would not be possible without robust banking relations.
“Banking relations should be established without hesitation,” he said.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced in December 2015 that it had granted a banking license to Melli Bank Plc (MB) under the Banking Ordinance.
Most Iranian banks and their overseas branches and subsidies were removed from the sanctions list on January 16 soon after a nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers came into effect.
