The Headquarters of the Banknote Issuing Banks Were Completed Within Five Years

The 1980s was an eventful decade in the banking industry of Hong Kong, marked by three banks with strong historic ties to Hong Kong undertaking symbolically significant moves.

In the late 1970s, HSBC’s Third Generation headquarters was demolished to make way for HSBC’s latest and current headquarters. Though rather short in stature, the HSBC Main Building was a feat of engineering, packed with innovative ideas. Construction began in 1981 and took only four years; it was completed on November 18, 1985.

Seven months earlier, on April 18, 1985, construction of the new headquarters for the Hong Kong branch of the Bank of China commenced. Designed by the world-renowned architect I. M. Pei, the Bank of China Tower would become Hong Kong’s most iconic building. Moreover, when completed on May 17, 1990, it was the first building outside of New York City and Chicago to surpass a height of 305 meters (1,000 feet).

In 1987, it was Standard Chartered Bank’s turn to start constructing their new headquarters. Located adjacent to the HSBC Main Building, the new Standard Chartered Bank Building replaced their former headquarters, built only 28 years earlier. The Standard Chartered Bank Building was completed on May 30, 1990, just thirteen days after the Bank of China Tower.