On February 25, 2020, Xu Kunlin, the deputy mayor of Shanghai, and his team visited The Bank of East Asia (China) Co., Ltd. (“BEA China” or the “Bank”)’s Shanghai Branch at BEA Finance Tower in Lujiazui, where they viewed the epidemic prevention and control measures in place and learned more about how Hong Kong-funded businesses are managing the return to work.

BEA China has strictly abided by the requirements of the Shanghai municipal government and financial regulators regarding epidemic prevention and control.  The entrance to BEA Finance Tower is fully equipped with body temperature monitors, registration, disinfectant and other prevention and control measures.  BEA China Shanghai Branch, located on the ground floor, is operating as normal. During his visit, Deputy Mayor Xu gained an overview of the Bank’s epidemic prevention and control measures as well as the Bank’s operations following the resumption of work. Mr. Xu further enquired as to whether the Bank had encountered any issues during the resumption of work and promised to ask the relevant authorities to respond and provide assistance as needed.

Since the Spring Festival holiday, BEA China has resumed work on a limited basis, ensuring continuity of operations by organising rotating shifts.  Shanghai Branch was one of the first branches to resume business after the holiday.  At the same time, BEA China has also actively leveraged various online channels, such as online banking, telephone banking, mobile banking, WeChat banking, and self-service machines, to provide customers with continuous and comprehensive financial services. Beginning this week, BEA China has balanced a gradual return to normal working conditions with the implementation of a series of prevention measures to reduce the possibility of close contact, including continual use of online tools to follow up on the health status of all employees, encouraging off-peak commuting, telephone / video conferencing, and advising staff to have lunch in smaller groups to avoid large congregations during lunch break.  Furthermore, all outlets of BEA China have undergone regular cleaning and disinfection during the epidemic to protect the health of employees and customers.

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, BEA China has actively responded to the call of the government and provided full support for the fight against the epidemic.  BEA China has donated RMB3 million to the Red Cross Society of China Wuhan Branch to purchase essential medical supplies and support front-line medical staff.  At the same time, BEA China has also opened a green channel for free and rapid processing of donations and special funds for epidemic prevention remitted to charities or special accounts in epidemic areas, and formulated a number of financial assistance measures to continuously provide customers with high-quality financial services.