In the first half of this year, despite the negative influences of the global financial crisis, ICBC has steadily promoted the internationalization strategy, all of its overseas institutions have kept good momentum for development, and the scale and benefits of business have been in smooth and healthy growth.
By the end of June, ICBC's overseas operating assets have amounted to RMB 314.8 billion, increasing 15% from the beginning of this year. ICBC has increasingly expanded its overseas network by extending its overseas operating institutions to 15 countries and regions over the globe, setting up and owning 143 overseas branch institutions and banks, and establishing agency relationships with 1378 banks in 125 countries and regions.
According to an official in charge, one of the important principles of ICBC's overseas business development is going global with the client. Since more and more Chinese enterprises have "gone global", they have transformed from the previous global purchase and global sales to global production, and are gradually becoming transnational enterprises on their own.
Many of the clients of ICBC are such enterprises, and going global with them practically means extending the integrated advantages in domestic business across the borders, utilizing the joined forces in business and providing cross-border financial services for a great deal of Chinese enterprises that have gone global.
Within this process, ICBC, on the one hand, accelerates the endogenous development by setting up overseas branch institutions. For instance, in the first half of this year, the applications for setting up the ICBC Institution in the United Arab Emirates and the ICBC Vietnam Branch have been approved by domestic authorities and are going smoothly through overseas examination and approval procedures.
On the other hand, ICBC facilitates the development of its overseas business by merging and purchasing. In June, ICBC reached the agreement with Bank of East Asia to purchase 70% stake in Bank of East Asia (Canada), thus acquiring the Canadian banking license and client resources. And this serves as a solid foundation for further development of business and network in North America.
In the meantime of exploring new institutions, ICBC also endeavors in the optimization and extension of existing network. For instance, ICBC International has acquired the Type 2 Regulated Activity License issued by the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong, thus can deal in futures and options contracts of recognized global markets.
And also, ICBC (Macau), the successful merger of the ICBC Macau Branch and Seng Heng Bank, has total assets of MOP 47.1 billion (approximately RMB 40.3 billion), ranking the first in all core aspects and standing as the largest of all locally registered banks.
Besides the improvement of overseas institutions, the overseas core business platform FOVA, researched and developed by ICBC independently, has been put into production in the first half of this year in ICBC (Indonesia), Tokyo Branch, Hong Kong Branch and ICBC (Macau). In this, ICBC has furthermore established its technological advantage in transnational operation, which realizes the entire automation and modernization in business operation of overseas institutions, and moreover facilitates the integration of all business and management into the operational system of ICBC Group, thus consolidating the basis for the next great-leap-forward development.
Relying on the powerful overall advantages of ICBC Group, all ICBC overseas institutions provide global financial services for clients through the linkage across the border, keeping good momentum for development in all business. For example, after officially launching the service of cross-border settlement in RMB this year, ICBC (Indonesia) has worked closely with domestic branches, and issued a Time Letter of Credit in favor of an export enterprise in China for PT.
INDOTRUCK UTAMA in Indonesia, which is the globally first letter of credit in RMB for cross-border trade. In the cooperation with overseas agency banks, for example, ICBC has recently collectively launched the Remit Worldwide Service in China with the Bank of New York Mellon. Through this service, beneficiary in China can receive faster and safer remittance from the U.
S. with more convenience.
ICBC has made satisfactory accomplishment in internationalization. In the first half of this year, the annul investment rate of return that ICBC acquires from the Standard Bank of South Africa is approximately 7.7%, far above that of investment in foreign bonds of the same period. Furthermore, the cooperation between the two banks is getting better, in that, by the end of June, 72 cooperation projects have been launched in financing, investment banking, settlement and cash management, trusteeship, direct investment and other aspects. Before buying in the Standard Bank, the financing of ICBC's business in Africa only amounted to USD 100 million, and its business was confined to several projects of two or three clients. By the end of June, however, the total financing of ICBC in Africa has amounted to USD 1.8 billion. ICBC has provided cross-border financial services in over 70 projects for 21 Chinese and African transnational enterprises, which increases about 1650%, fulfilling about USD 9.4 million of income. And ICBC has access to many new business fields, such as Overseas Structured Commodity Financing, Financing on Mining Projects, Financing on International Merger of Mining Companies, Carbon Emissions Trading, etc., thus the synergic effect of the strategic cooperation is gradually increasing. Meanwhile, Seng Heng Bank in Macau has also maintained a good momentum for development after the merger, achieving an increase of income at the speed of 16% in the first half of this year, in spite of the global economic fluctuation.
