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ICBC Yangon Branch Opens for Business
 

ICBC Yangon Branch officially opened On September 8, 2015, becoming the first Chinese commercial bank that enters the Burmese market. The opening of Yangon Branch will further improve ICBC's network in Southeast Asia, and set up a new platform for better serving enterprises "going global" and promoting trade and economic ties between China and Myanmar. Deputy finance minister of Myanmar U Maung Maung Thein, Governor of Yangon U Myint Swe, deputy governors of the Burmese central bank U Hset Aung and Daw Khin Soe U, ICBC President Yi Huiman, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Hong Liang, among others, attended the opening ceremony in Yangon.

President Yi Huiman said that the opening of Yangon Branch was a key achievement of economic cooperation between the two nations, and another important milestone in the Bank's global expansion. Upon establishment, the branch, with the philosophy of complying with laws and regulations, and by leveraging ICBC's strong business platforms and global network, aims to become a bridge for strengthening bilateral trade and economic ties between China and Myanmar, and an outstanding bank with satisfaction of local governments, trust of the general public, praise from customers, and good social reputation.

China now is the biggest trading partner and export market of Myanmar, and its largest source of imports and source of foreign investment. Chinese enterprises have forged close cooperation with their Burmese equivalents in the areas of power generation, energy, agriculture, communications, infrastructure construction, resource development, and processing and assembly industry, which has remarkably contributed to social and economic development of Myanmar. 0}In the foreseeable future, great potentials still exist in terms of trade and investment between the two countries.

In recent years, ICBC has actively adapted itself to customers' diversified needs for financial services, steadily pressed ahead with internationalized and integrated operations, accelerated the layout of overseas institutions, broadened business development scopes, and striven to boost its cross-border financial service capacity. So far, its global service network has covered 42 countries and territories in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, America and Australia, as well as major international financial centers; by investing in Standard Bank of South Africa, it has indirectly extended its reach to 20 African countries. This has made it the Chinese bank with the widest coverage of overseas institutions. In addition, the Bank has established correspondent bank relationships with 1,604 foreign banks in 147 countries and territories, significantly strengthened its service network, cross-market and global service capacities.ICBC has already established operations in seven of the ten ASEAN nations before the opening of Yangon Branch.

On 21 September 2015 (US time), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) announced in Seattle that its local institution, also the first operating institution from a Mainland China bank in the Northwest America, has officially opened for business.

On the inaugural ceremony, Chairman Jiang Jianqing of ICBC said, the Seattle institution, as a new business platform of the Bank in the U.S., will provide local customers, as well as multinationals and financial institutions that participate in the economic and trade activities between the two countries, with excellent financial services on the strengths of ICBC in funding, network and technology. In the future, ICBC institutions in the U.S. will implement its “broad platform” programme and build an organic, integrated and comprehensive financial service platform leveraging its “one platform + multi-pillars” model.

Under the jurisdiction of the Washington State, Greater Seattle is the birthplace of a handful of companies, e.g. Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks. This area is also of overriding importance in China’s investment in the U.S. In 2014, Chinese enterprises made 35 investments totaling almost USD 300 million in the Washington State, a leap forward from six investments worth less than USD 20 million in 2007. Currently, a host of reputable Chinese enterprises including ZTE, Inspur Group, iSoftStone, Hainan Airlines and Alibaba have established their U.S. headquarters in Seattle, creating enormous demand for financial services. Therefore, ICBC (Seattle) has a sound foundation for development.

Over recent years, ICBC has been actively enhancing its capabilities to deploy a network and providing services to meet financial demand from trade and investment activities between China and the U.S. ICBC spent merely seven years from 2008 to expand its presence in the U.S. into a universal-licensed financial institution with four subsidiaries. The expanding scale and the improved operating level have substantially strengthened the U.S. institutions’ capabilities to serve multinationals, local customers and Sino-U.S. economic, trade and investment intercourses. In the coming days, the Seattle institution will become ICBC’s headquarter in the northwest of the U.S. alongside the Bank’s penetration and development in the Washington State and Greater Seattle. The institution is about to offer premier services to local Chinese & American corporate and personal customers.


(2015-09-29)
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