The "Development Strategy Plan of ICBC Between 2009 and 2011" (hereafter referred to as the "New Plan") and the "Implementation Scheme of the Development Strategy Plan of ICBC Between 2009 and 2011" (hereafter referred to as the "Implementation Scheme") have been officially sent to all ICBC offices and put into execution on June 9th, 2009. The New Plan is the second three-year plan within the ten-year period of ICBC's strategic transformation; which, based on summarizing the implementation experience of the "Development Strategy Plan of ICBC Between 2006 and 2008" (hereafter referred to as the "First Plan"), is formulated after an in-depth analysis of the actual development situation of ICBC and the economic and financial trends at home and abroad. It not only inherits the strategy policy proposed by the First Plan, but also remarks a strategic upgrading facing the future.
I. Implementation experience of ICBC's First PlanThe "Development Strategy Plan of ICBC Between 2006 and 2008" is the first medium-term development strategy plan after the reform and reconstructuring of ICBC. The transformation strategy put forward by this plan is based on experience from the achievements and failures of ICBC in the past twenty years and on the direction of China's financial reform and the development trend leading to future; and is a rational policy to guide ICBC to accomplish reform and sustainable development. It establishes the objective to achieve strategic transformation in about ten years' time. Through the implementation of the First Plan, the whole bank has reached a unified understanding of the strategic transformation.
Indicated by the implementation records between 2006 and 2008, ICBC's actual performance has complied with, or even exceeded the general objective and requirements set forth by the First Plan. During the three-year period, the average annual growth rate of ICBC's assets was 14.8%, that of profits 43.2%. In the case that the growth rate of loans was slower than that of non-credit assets, the average return on assets exceeded 1.2 %, and the profitability of its total assets continued to enhance. As a listed joint-stock bank, ICBC achieved that the rate of return of its stocks exceeded 19%, earning per share surpassed RMB 0.3 and net asset value per share went beyond RMB 1.8, fulfilling the commitment to maximize shareholder returns and demonstrating the value growth in institutional transition. The whole bank has carried out the transformation strategy and kept in line with the plan to promote reform and development; thus the "eight strategies" introduced by the First Plan including adjustment of management structure, development by areas, innovation, service differentiation, cross-border management, comprehensive risk control, and emphasis on technology and human capital, have been implemented successfully, which propelled the significant transformation in management mode and growth pattern, realized the coordinate development of scale and profit and the co-growth of efficiency and quality, and fulfilled an actual effect that exceeded the expectations. Up to the end of the First Plan period, i.e., by the end of 2008, ICBC had not only ranked No. One in market value, but also become the most profitable bank in the world.
Success of the First Plan is mainly for the following reasons: First, ICBC has adhered to its transformation strategy and made a rewardable start in reforming its traditional operation model; Second, ICBC has highlighted effectiveness and endeavored to enhance the capability of comprehensive profit-making; Third, ICBC has paid close attention to risk control and maintained a moderate reform pace; Fourth, ICBC has chosen to achieve transformation in self-development and implemented flexible strategies; lastly, ICBC has emphasized putting the strategies into practice and continuously improved the strategy system.
II. Framework of ICBC's new three-year planSuccess of the First Plan has strengthened ICBC's confidence and determination to carry out the transformation strategy persistently and to maintain moderate and sustainable development. In current and future periods, ICBC, while confronting the severe challenges posed by economic cyclical fluctuations, is also facing the potential opportunities in economic structural adjustment. In this light, ICBC must ensure the sustainability of its development strategy and unswervingly push forward its management structure adjustment to achieve transformation of both its management structure and growth pattern; meanwhile, ICBC must enhance its ability to grasp opportunities to consolidate and to fortify its market position. To achieve this, the New Plan proposes the guiding thought that "Guided by scientific outlook on development, striving to enhance core competitiveness, continuing to promote management structural transformation, developing more innovations, and achieving fast, stable and sustainable development of ICBC", and establishes the three major tasks in this development phrase.
To implement the guiding thought and to accomplish the three tasks, ICBC puts forward that in the New Plan period, ICBC must "start from the reality of ICBC and bring the scientific outlook on development into every step of ICBC's transition ", and "take sustainable value growth as the fundamental goal of our development, and ensure that the development contributes to continuous and stable market value growth of ICBC". In addition, to implement the strategy policy and the task requirements, the New Plan proposes ten strategic projects which attach emphasis to structure adjustment, finance innovation, service upgrading and etc., and a set of specific objectives and measures for different regions and for varied services according to the general objective and task design of the ten strategic projects.
To ensure implementation of the strategies of the New Plan and successful fulfillment of the development tasks within the expected period, ICBC also develops an implementation scheme to make detailed and specific arrangements of the tasks and responsibilities for different departments and branch offices.
To ensure adaptability and flexibility of the New Plan, ICBC establishes coordination mechanisms to coordinate the New Plan and the annual business plans. Between 2009 and 2011, the annual business plans of the whole bank and its different departments will be based on the New Plan, so as to continuously promote the strategic transformation of management mode and structure. Meanwhile, at the beginning of each year, necessary adjustments will be made to the evaluation indicators according to the actual changes in the business environment and the implementation effect of the New Plan in the previous year.
Regular inspections will be made on the implementation situation of the New Plan, the implementation progress and the existing problems, and be reported to the Board of Directors. Implementation effect of the New Plan will also be taken into consideration when the annual performance of each administrative department and branch offices is evaluated, in order to ensure effective execution of the New Plan.
We believe that the New Plan will play an active and effective role in promoting business development of ICBC, and by implementing this plan, ICBC will cross a new threshold in its business performance.