The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced that it has granted four banking licences for virtual banks.

The banking licences have been granted to Ant SME Services (Hong Kong) Limited, Infinium Limited, Insight Fintech HK Limited, and Ping An OneConnect Company Limited. The banking licences take effect in Hong Kong immediately.

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However, all of these firms have familiar backers behind them.

Infinium Limited is a joint venture between Tencent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) – a unit of Chinese banking giant ICBC , Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing – the operator of the Hong Kong stock exchange, private equity firm Hillhouse Capital, and Adrian Cheng, executive vice chairman of New World Development.

Furthermore, Insight Fintech is a joint venture between smartphone maker Xiaomi, which holds 90% of the firm, and independent investment bank AMTD Group.

Also, Ant SME Services is a unit of Alibaba company Ant Financial, while PingAn One Connect is an arm of Chinese insurance giant PingAn.

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According to the business plans of the virtual banks, they all plan to launch within six to nine months. This takes the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong to 160 and virtual banks to eight.

Mr Norman Chan, Chief Executive of the HKMA, said: “We are pleased to grant four more virtual banking licences today. The HKMA is now working closely with the 8 virtual bank licensees to prepare for the launch of their business operations in accordance with their plans.”

“The launch of virtual banks in Hong Kong, which is a key component of the Smart Banking Initiatives, will certainly facilitate financial innovation, enhanced customer experience and financial inclusion.”

The HKMA will monitor the virtual banks and their operations after they have begun business. Furthermore, it will look at customer reaction to the new players and the impact of them on the sector in general.

The monetary authority expects a comprehensive analysis within one year of the first virtual bank launch.