HONG KONG — Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK) on Monday announced to issue commemorative banknotes in celebration of the centenary of Bank of China's (BOC) service to Hong Kong.

The banknotes will be available for subscription from Thursday to Oct 18 for applicants aged 18 or above with a valid Hong Kong identity card. Application can be made online or in any BOCHK branches.

Net proceeds generated from the sale will be used for local community projects and charitable causes, said Yue Yi, vice chairman and chief executive of BOCHK.

The commemorative banknote is denominated in HK$100 ($12.82).

A total of 5 million commemorative banknotes will be issued, with 3.24 million sets in three different packages available for subscription.

The banknotes will be in sets of a single note (2.9 million sets) priced at HK$288 per set, 3-in-1 uncut notes (300,000 sets) at HK$988 and 30-in-1 uncut notes (40,000 sets) at HK$13,888.

The front side of the banknote features a famous local landmark, Bank of China Tower, superimposed by the image of the Bank of China Building, with the old Bank of China Hong Kong Branch and Bank of China Head Office in Beijing on the side.

The reverse side of the commemorative banknote features an image of the first Hong Kong dollar banknote issued by BOC in 1994, depicting both sides of Victoria Harbour viewed from the Peak.

BOC set up a sub-branch in Hong Kong on Sept 24, 1917, with less than ten employees. In a century, the branch has evolved into a group with 12,000 employees.