In 2008, with moderate operation guideline, ICBC overcame the negative influence brought by the financial crisis and positively steadily boosted its strategy of internationalization development. By far all ICBC's overseas business institutions are keeping good momentum and have realized the stable healthy development in operation scale and benefit.
By the end of 2008, the total asset scale of ICBC's overseas business institutions has increased 15% comparing with the same period in previous year and the profitability were lifting during the year. Presently, ICBC has set up 126 branches in 15 countries and regions in the world whereby significantly enhanced its global financial service capacity.
Simultaneously, the overseas core business platform FOVA that was developed by ICBC independently has been put into production in overseas institutions, which further consolidated the technological advantage of trans-national operation and laid firm foundation for leaping development in next step.
A relevant principal of ICBC said, the fact that ICBC's overseas business institutions kept good momentum under the tough environment of financial crisis sweeping the world should owe to the high risk management level of these institutions. In the crisis, all ICBC's overseas business institutions never hold any secondary loan backed bond therefore they almost have no direct loss.
By the end of 2008, the asset quality of the ICBC's overseas institutions kept sound all along, and the reserves of various risk assets were appropriated in full, the non-performing assets rate and non-performing loan rate were all lower than most of financial institutions in the world.
Meanwhile, backed with strong comprehensive advantage of the group, all ICBC's overseas institutions offered global financial service to consumers through internal and external linkage and kept good momentum in all business developments. In 2008, the international settlement and international trade financing of ICBC's institutions domestically and overseas still showed rapidly increasing trend. The business volume of the international settlement broke 750 billion US dollars for the first time, of which the business volume of the international settlement handled by ICBC's domestic institutions reached 579.5 billion US dollars and increased by 37.24% comparing with the previous year. The accumulative loan for international trade financing of ICBC's institutions domestically and overseas broke 50 billion US dollars for the first time, of which, the amount incurred by trade financing inside the Financial Statements of domestic institutions was 33.544 billion US dollars and increased by 31.62% comparing with the previous year.
In addition, ICBC has made great breakthrough in the expansion of the overseas institutions and formed a more perfect trans-national business network in 2008. This year, ICBC formally entered into US Market- successfully set up a branch in New York, the international financial center; the founding of Sydney Branch realized a phased strategic goal of the bank-"Break US and Australia"; meanwhile ICBC completed the settlement of the acquisition of the shareholdings of the biggest bank in Africa-Standard Bank of South Africa and became the only one biggest shareholder of the bank whereby successfully opened the door of African market; ICBC also finished the acquisition of the biggest local bank in Macao-Seng Heng Bank whereby further enhanced the strength of ICBC's business institutions in Hong Kong and Macao that were regarded as ICBC's overseas flagship all along; The establishments of Dubai Subsidiary and Doha Branch fill the gap of China's commercial bank network in Middle East region, more importantly, the bank realized profit in the year.
The successful advancement of ICBC's internationalization development strategy has also won high appraisals from international authoritative institutions and local governments. In 2008, ICBC was selected as "Bank of the Year in Asia" by UK The Banker. The Banker pointed out in the awarding address, "ICBC is speeding up the step to globalization, rapidly forming a service network covering main financial centers throughout the world and playing an increasing important role in local and international financial fields." After settlement of the acquisition, Seng Heng Bank rapidly merged into the group and was selected as "Best Bank in Macao" by UK The Banker. and US Global Finance respectively in 2008. Since founded in 1997, ICBC's Seoul Branch constantly keeps the sound development momentum. In order to praise the important contribution of the bank to the steady development of Korean economy and finance, in 2008, Korean President Lee Myung-Bak awarded "President Award" to the General Manager of ICBC's Seoul Branch that is the first Chinese enterprise manager who won the award of such high level by far and the only one manager of foreign-funded enterprise in Korea who won "President Award" of the year.
