Bakai Bank has set up shop at One Taikoo Place in Quarry Bay, marking its debut outside Kyrgyzstan and making it the first Central Asian bank to obtain a license in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Monday that Bakai was granted a restricted banking license.
The team in Hong Kong will zero in on trade finance for businesses across Central Asia and the broader Asia Pacific region. That spans core services such as payments, FX, bonds and guarantees. The bank has hired 35 people so far, covering coverage, sales, product, treasury and back office roles.
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Hong Kong is leaning into its role as a connector for Beijing's Belt and Road push, and deeper ties with resource-rich Central Asia are part of that strategy. Bakai plans to start with consumer trade lanes, particularly EVs and technology hardware moving between China and Central Asia. Meletiou noted the rapid shift on the ground, describing streets in Central Asia that had "almost zero" Chinese cars a couple of years ago as now "full of Chinese electric vehicles."
Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia's second-smallest economy, logged 11.1% GDP growth in 2025 and is projected by the IMF to reach $23.6 billion in GDP by 2026. The region has been expanding its role as a go-between for trade and payments amid sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine. For your money, that means more banking rails being built where goods are actually moving, which can influence financing costs, settlement speed and where the next wave of growth firms chooses to bank.
New financial links between China and Central Asia reshape where capital flows. Join Market Briefs free and watch the map change.
