BANK OF CHINA, ADB TO BROADEN STRATEGIC COOPERATION

A visiting delegation from Bank of China (BOC) in People s Republic of China (PRC) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have agreed to explore a broad range of fresh opportunities for collaboration, including regional trade finance, clean energy and infrastructure development, microfinance and institutional capacity building.

BOC officials led by Executive Vice President Zaiqun Zhou, met ADB management and senior staff, including Vice Presidents Lawrence Greenwood, Xiaoyu Zhao and Lakshmi Ventakachalam, for a series of discussions at ADB headquarters last Friday.

As a strategic investor, ADB has conducted five technical assistance projects for BOC since 2006, covering corporate governance, environmental safeguards, anti-money laundering, anti-corruption, and operational risk management. It has also provided training under ADB s Trade Finance Facilitation Program for BOC staff. ADB is currently the fifth largest shareholder of BOC and will remain as a long-term strategic investor.

"ADB and BOC foresee several opportunities for enhanced collaboration in important areas over coming years with priorities including climate change and low carbon development, infrastructure investment, regional trade finance, small- and medium-enterprise (SME) financing, microfinance, joint research and knowledge sharing, and corporate governance and risk management improvement," said Philip Erquiaga, Director-General, of ADB s Private Sector Operations Department.

BOC is the largest trade financing bank in PRC, and ADB is looking to expand its Trade Finance Facilitation Program with support from BOC, with the goal of reducing costs and risks, and increasing trade among ADB s developing member countries. The two institutions will also explore cofinancing of infrastructure projects for developing countries, and potential opportunities for promoting the development of public-private partnerships, small- and medium-enterprise financing, climate change finance, microfinance, and the use of credit guarantees.

BOC and ADB are working to establish a regular staff exchange program, and two corporate staff from BOC are set to work in ADB s South Asia Department from later this year on infrastructure-related projects.

"All these initiatives show that there is huge potential and enormous opportunity for our future business and infrastructure cooperation," said Zaiqun Zhou, BOC s Executive Vice President.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members 48 from the region. In 2009, it approved a total of $16.1 billion in financing operations through loans, grants, guarantees, a trade finance facilitation program, equity investments, and technical assistance projects. ADB also mobilized cofinancing amounting to $3.2 billion.

BOC is the most international and diversified bank in China, providing a comprehensive range of financial services to customers across the Chinese mainland, Hongkong, Macau, and 29 overseas countries. In recent years, has strengthened efforts to promote energy-efficiency, emission reduction, environmental protection, green finance, SME finance, and microfinance. BOC also plays a proactive role in facilitating sectoral restructuring, fulfilling social responsibility, promoting harmonized economic development and protecting the environment.