Nov 3 ICBC announced the inaugural opening of its Branch in Thailand's capital Bangkok. The new Branch, formerly ACL Bank before acquired by ICBC, was officially renamed as ICBC (Thai) Public Company Limited ("ICBC Thai"), marking ICBC's foray into Thai market. Invited guests at the opening ceremony were the Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavaniji, Deputy Governor Mrs. Atchana Waiquamdee of the Bank of Thailand, Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Guan Mu, ICBC Chairman Jiang Jianqing and Senior Executive Vice President Wang Lili.
The renamed ICBC Thai takes over all the customers, assets and business of the former ACL Bank and becomes a nationwide commercial bank in Thailand. Bangkok-headquartered ICBC Thai has 19 branches, 8 in Bangkok and the rest in 11 major Thai cities (including Chiang Mai, Phuket, Khon Kaen, Rayong, Hat Yai).
ICBC Thai holds a full business license that allows the Branch to provide a full range of banking services to companies, individuals and institutional clients encompassing loans, deposits, settlement, trade finance, leasing, investment banking and securities brokerage. ICBC Thai also owns a subsidiary engaging in leasing business and one listed associated securities company.
At the inaugural ceremony, ICBC Chairman Jiang Jianqing reiterated the importance of Thai market. The inception of ICBC Thai is significant to ICBC in terms of gaining presence in Mekong River Region as well as Southeast Asia and the set up of a comprehensive global service network. Economic, trade and investment between China and Thailand have been proceeding at an impressive pace for the past few years.
The establishment of China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone this year, China Western Development Program and the further cooperation around Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS) will offer many new opportunities for Chinese and Thai companies and great potential for ICBC Thai. Looking ahead, ICBC Thai will underscore the competitive advantages of former ACL bank and push ahead with the Thai peers.
The Branch will provide all the financial support to the Chinese and Thai companies and the economic progress of Thailand through ICBC Group's global resources and advantages.
Thailand is one of the most important ASEAN countries. China and Thailand have enjoyed good economic and trade cooperation since the two countries forged diplomatic relations in July 1, 1957. Currently China is Thailand's second largest trade partner with bilateral trade standing at 38.2 billion US dollars in 2009.
As the commodity trades gain momentum, more and more Chinese companies invest in Thailand. China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), Huawei, ZTE, Haier are some of the well-known Chinese enterprises joining the fray. In recent year, ICBC has been following the customers to "go global" and boosting its presence overseas.
The inception of ICBC Thai is a new bridge for the companies from two countries to cooperate, helping Chinese companies to invest and expand in Thailand and Thailand companies to locate business opportunities in China. Besides, more and more Chinese pick Thailand as the tourist destination, this creates huge potential for financial services related to China and a rich business opportunity for ICBC Thai.
ACL Bank, ICBC Thai's former, was established in 1969 and listed in the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 1978. ACL Bank obtained the full banking license in 2005. ICBC entered a sales and purchase agreement with the Thailand Bangkok Bank on September 29, 2009. Pursuant to the Agreement, ICBC agreed to buy the 19.
26% shares of ACL Bank held by Bangkok Bank under the condition that 51% or more of ACL shares were acquired through open market. On March 9, 2010, ICBC made the voluntary tender offer to all the shareholders of ACL Bank. The offer ended on April 16. ICBC received approximately 97.24 percent of the total issued shares from ACL's former shareholders, On April 21, ICBC and ACL Bank's shareholders concluded the agreement with the delivery of shares and capital.
ICBC becomes the majority stockholder of ACL Bank.
ICBC is the largest commercial bank in China. It maintains market leading position in almost all commercial banking businesses in China backed by its solid customer base, cutting-edge IT technology and diversified product portfolio. ICBC is seeing a real acceleration in the performance and profitability since its simultaneous IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong in 2006.
Today, ICBC is the most profitable commercial bank in the world with the largest market capitalization, the largest customer deposits and the highest brand value. In recent years, ICBC has escalated its international presence through new branches and acquisitions and scaled up its overseas subsidiaries and business areas to offer financial services across the globe.
As of today, ICBC has 194 overseas branches and subsidiaries in 27 countries/regions and has established agency relationships with 1,422 banks in 128 countries/regions. ICBC is building a global financial service platform covering all the international finance centers and China's major trading regions with clear hierarchy, well-positioning, diversified channels and high efficiency.
