China's Banking giant expands services to London
( 2003-09-25 16:21) (Xinhua)
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has taken a major step
forward in its overseas strategy with the opening of a new banking subsidiary in
London.
According to a spokesman for the bank, the ICBC (London) Co. Ltd.,
which went operation officially on Wednesday, will provide services for Chinese
enterprises and individuals in the city and facilitate investment by British
businesses in China.
A representative office of the ICBC, a major state-owned commercial bank in
China, was inaugurated in London as early as November, 1995.
Annual Sino-British trade volume surpassed ten billion US dollars in recent
years, making Britain the largest European investor in China.
The ICBC spokesman said that multi-national management has been one of the
bank's key strategies over the past few years and London, an international
financial center, will become a hub for economic and financial exchanges between
China and Britain.
The ICBC has, so far, established more than 1,000 overseas agents with
foreign currency assets totaling over 50 billion US
dollars.
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