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Banking & finance
BusinessBanking & Finance

BOCHK-backed virtual lender Livi eyes further SME business growth after strong 2023

  • Livi started offering corporate banking services in March with a focus on SMEs
  • The virtual lender will expand SME lending by leveraging ‘strong network of shareholders and business partners’, consultant Jammy Chen says

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There were 340,000 SMEs in Hong Kong at the end of last year, employing 45 per cent of the city’s private workforce. Photo: Elson Li
Enoch Yiu
Livi Bank, a virtual bank backed by the Bank of China (Hong Kong), will continue to expand lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as it views the segment as a future growth engine after strong growth this year, according to CEO David Sun.
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“There is strong demand from SMEs for banking services and lending,” Sun said in a media briefing recently. “This will be the focus of expansion at Livi Bank in coming years.”

Livi, which is among eight virtual lenders that started operations in Hong Kong in 2020, started offering corporate banking services in March with a focus on SMEs.

“This newly launched service is a major growth segment, as we progress the growth of our business,” Sun said. “Going forward, Livi Bank will see accelerating growth led primarily by corporate banking businesses.

“We will continue to make substantial investments in new products and segments.”

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Livi joins Ping An OneConnect Bank – a virtual lender indirectly owned by mainland Chinese insurer Ping An Insurance – in increasing lending to SMEs, helping the city’s small players capture growth opportunities in the post-Covid-19 era.

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