ICBC, since the beginning of 2009, has maintained the momentum of rapid growth in its sector of e-banking business, which has got a good start. By the end of the first quarter, corporate clients and personal clients of ICBC's Internet Banking have amounted to 61.96 million and 1.59 million respectively, an increase of 5.
24 million and 151 thousand compared with the beginning of the year. Its market share continued to take the lead. Meanwhile, ICBC's e-Banking transactions have risen to RMB 32 trillion in the first quarter, accounting for 44.5% of all its businesses, a 1.4% increase from the beginning of the year, and demonstrating the advantage of e-Banking in distributing business operations.
ICBC's Personal Internet Banking transactions amount have reached 279 million and their volume RMB 3.21 trillion, an increase of 76.6% and 84.6% over the same period last year. ICBC proves to remain the first choice Internet Bank for Chinese clients.
That ICBC's Internet Banking business has boasted a robust growth in recent years is largely due to its adherence to promoting product innovation which centers on the needs of clients. Only in recent months, ICBC has introduced a number of new e-Banking products, including Mobile Banking (WAP), Personal Internet Banking (VIP edition), online financial management products, online corporate financial software, purchase of small volume foreign exchange, birthday discount for remittance, gold trade for personal account and trade of physical gold.
Among the newly-launched e-Banking products targeting personal clients, Mobile Banking (WAP) has won extensive popularity upon its introduction, whose users, up to the end of the first quarter, have increase 1.81 million to 2.36 million, showing an impressively high growth rate. As a high-end service platform of ICBC's e-Banking, clients of the VIP edition of Internet Banking have surged to 2.
315 million, their transaction volume RMB 909.9 billion, which takes up 28.3% of the total transaction volume of Personal Internet Banking and has seen an increase of 16.3% compared with the beginning of the year. In the emerging sector of online financial management, its business volume has enjoyed a 70 times growth in the first quarter.
In the area of Corporate Internet Banking, ICBC has insisted on product innovation, especially introducing new products for small and medium-sized enterprises; and has paid great efforts in promoting e-commerce business such as B2B and B2C to create more business opportunities for SMEs. In the first quarter, ICBC's B2B transactions and their volume have reached 193 thousand and RMB 7.
03 billion respectively, an increase of 395% and 138% over the same period last year; its B2C transactions and their volume 78.43 million and RMB 25.1 billion respectively, an increase of 109% and 87.6%. In addition, ICBC has launched the SME edition of Corporate Internet Banking serving specially for SMEs, whose functions include account inquiry, account checking, transfer and remittance, agency salary payment, ICBC messenger, online tax payment and online financial software.
Such functions are user-friendly, widely applied and suit the characteristics of SME clients, and thus can greatly enhance the computerization of SMEs' financial management, increase the efficiency of their capital operation and save much cost.
Moreover, in order that clients can be fully informed of ICBC's e-Banking products, their features and advantages, ICBC has launched a set of promotion campaigns. Only in the first quarter of 2009, ICBC has initiated such e-Banking promotions as "Using ICBC Banking@Home to remit on Festivals, Sending Sincere Greetings" and "Using ICBC Banking@Home, Leading Happy E-life" which target personal clients; "E-touching Turning Stone into Gold, Internet banking Accumulating Wealth for You" and "Cooperation between Giants, Internet banking accumulating wealth" which target corporate clients.
ICBC has brought conveniences and benefits of e-Banking to more clients by continuously launching e-Banking promotion campaigns, which have also won recognition from clients, further accelerating the wide application of e-Banking.
With consistent product innovation and service promotion, ICBC's e-Banking business has not only enjoyed fast sound development, but also has obtained recognition from the clients and the authorities. ICBC's e-Banking services have received a great many awards from domestic and international selections. Following the 29 awards in 2008, ICBC has already won seven honors including the "Distinguished Contribution to Internet Banking Award", the "Management Innovation Team Award", the "Award for Best User Experience", and the "Best Internet Bank" during the event organized by authority organizations such as China Electronic Commerce Association in the first quarter of 2009.
