# BEA Bank of East Asia

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/bea-hong-kong
> research date 2026-05-30 · extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [BEA — official](https://www.hkbea.com/)

## Overview

**BEA Bank of East Asia** is **SEHK: 23** + **Hong Kong commercial bank** + **Hong Kong's largest independent commercial bank by assets** + **Li family + Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation SMBC ~20%+ major shareholders** <sup>[1][1], [Hong Kong report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/HK)</sup>.

## History

**1918 — The Bank of East Asia BEA founded by Li Koon-Chun + Kan Tong-Po + Fung Ping-Shan in Hong Kong** distinctive Hong Kong banking heritage as one of Hong Kong's oldest indigenous commercial banks.

**1959 — BEA SEHK IPO under ticker 23**.

**2007 — Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation SMBC acquires significant minority stake in BEA**.

**2014 — BEA Mobile banking app launch**.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity**: **The Bank of East Asia Limited BEA** (Hong Kong commercial bank; Li family + SMBC major shareholders).

**Major shareholders**: **Li family (Li Koon-Chun founding family) + Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation SMBC (Japanese banking group) ~20%+ + Hong Kong + international retail + institutional + foreign investors free float**.

**Regulators**: **HKMA + SFC + PBoC (BEA China)**.

## Technical integration

BEA Mobile banking app (iOS + Android) + hkbea.com online + BEA branch network across Hong Kong + BEA China + Macau + Singapore + Malaysia + UK + US + Canada + BEA Visa + Mastercard + UnionPay cards; FPS HK (Hong Kong Faster Payment System) + HK IBAN + EFPS QR.

## Implementations & partners

**Major Hong Kong banking + payments competitors**: [HSBC Hong Kong (PayMe + HSBC HK App)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/hsbc-hong-kong) (HSBC Hong Kong; HSBC's original Hong Kong founding entity since 1865; Hong Kong's largest commercial bank by assets; ~3M+ PayMe customers) + [Hang Seng Bank (HSBC subsidiary; post-Jan 2026 privatisation)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/hang-seng-bank) (Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong; HSBC HK ~62.14% subsidiary; SEHK: 11; Hong Kong's #2 commercial bank by assets) + [BoC Pay (Bank of China Hong Kong)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/boc-pay-hk) (BoC Pay Hong Kong; Bank of China HK; SEHK: 2388; Hong Kong's third note-issuing bank) + [Standard Chartered Hong Kong](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/standard-chartered-hk) (Standard Chartered Hong Kong; LSE: STAN + SEHK: 2888; Hong Kong's third note-issuing bank since 1862; Mox Bank Hong Kong founding JV partner) + [Citibank Hong Kong](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/citibank-hk) (Citibank Hong Kong; Citigroup NYSE: C subsidiary) + [DBS Hong Kong](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/dbs-hk) (DBS Hong Kong; DBS Bank Singapore subsidiary) + [Mox Bank](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/mox-bank) (Mox Bank Hong Kong; Standard Chartered + HKT + PCCW + Trip.com JV digital bank) + [AlipayHK](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/alipayhk) (AlipayHK; Ant Group Hong Kong mobile wallet) + [WeChat Pay HK](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/wechat-pay-hk) (WeChat Pay HK; Tencent Hong Kong mobile wallet).

**Regulators**: HKMA + SFC + PBoC.

## Status

**Active, SEHK:23 + Hong Kong commercial bank + Hong Kong's largest independent commercial bank by assets + Li family + Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation SMBC ~20%+ major shareholders + 1918 founding as one of Hong Kong's oldest indigenous commercial banks** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>.

## Sources

[1]: https://www.hkbea.com/ "BEA — official"
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_East_Asia "Bank of East Asia — Wikipedia"
[hk-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/HK

- [1] [BEA — official][1]
- [2] [Bank of East Asia — Wikipedia][2]
- <sup>[Hong Kong report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/HK)</sup> In-corpus: `reports/countries/HK-hong-kong.md`

## Source

Biography extracted from [bea-hong-kong.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/bea-hong-kong). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.