Hwari Bank was established in November 1997 as a joint-stock commercial bank under the supervision and management of the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea with the approval of the Law on Foreign Investment Enterprises of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Its birth and growth has been under the care and support of the great leader General Kim Jong Il. Hwali Bank is the only commercial bank in the DPRK authorized to conduct business in Chinese Renminbi and the only joint-stock banking company that has been at the forefront of economic reform since its inception, serving as a window to observe and understand the world economy.