bank have been offered fair redundancy packages. On 9 & 10 November 2017, all HSBC Brunei branches and ATMs had ceased its operations. The remaining accounts were all transferred to the local, Baiduri Bank on the same date. China HSBC established its Shanghai branch office on 3 March 1865 and has had a continuous presence in the city since then, except during the Japanese Occupation. Until the economic reforms of the late 1970s, its activities were mainly in inward remittances and export bills, however its activities now span a wider range. On 6 August 2004, HSBC announced that it would pay US$1.75 billion for a 19.9% stake in Shanghai-based Bank of Communications. At the time of the announcement, Bank of Communications was China's fifth-largest bank and the investment by HSBC was eight times bigger than any previous foreign investment in a Chinese bank. The industry considered this move, giving HSBC a lead in the race to grab pieces of mainland China's banking market. A year earlier, HSBC had joined with Hong Kong's Shanghai Commercial Bank to purchase an 11% stake in Bank of Shanghai (HSBC paid US$62.6 million for an 8% stake) and US$733 million for a 10% stake in Ping An Insurance. On 1 April 2007, the mainland China offices of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation transferred to its subsidiary HSBC Bank (China), and it started operations on 2 April. In July 2022, HSBC became the first foreign lender to open a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee in its Chinese investment banking subsidiary. The subsidiary, HSBC Qianhai Securities, is a 90% HSBC-owned joint venture. India In 1959 HSBC acquired The Mercantile Bank of India, London and China, established in October 1853 in Bombay. HSBC is now one of the fastest growing foreign banks in India, both in domestic banking and support operations for worldwide operations (see Group Service Centres). Indonesia The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation opened its first Indonesian office in Jakarta in 1884. Having been able to restart its operations after the Second World War, it was again forced to close in the mid-1960s, however the bank was granted a new banking licence in 1968 its operations have grown to make it one of the largest foreign banks operating in Indonesia. Japan HSBC opened its first Japan operations in Yokohama in 1866, followed by branches in other trading ports such as Osaka, Kobe and Nagasaki. It