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No European banks for ICBC
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s biggest bank by market value, plans to increase its global footprint by setting up new branches in countries such as Brazil, India and Pakistan, its chairman said yesterday.
But ICBC is not considering acquiring European banks in the near term, chairman Jiang Jianqing said. The bank aims to draw 10 per cent of its assets and profit from overseas operations by 2016, up from four per cent now. ICBC has been aggressive compared to other Chinese banks in boosting its overseas presence through acquisitions, although on a much smaller scale than its western competitors. It acquired 80 per cent of Bank of East Asia’s US business in January for $140m (£86m).