BEIJING: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China’s biggest bank by market value, formally opened a new branch in Berlin here the other day, expanding its business in Germany and eyeing more benefits from overseas operations.
Counting the new Berlin office, ICBC now has five branches in Germany with over $2 billion in assets. The other four branches are located in Frankfurt, Duesseldorf, Munich and Hamburg.
“As bilateral trade between China and Germany develops, ICBC is increasing its investment in Germany,” said the bank’s chairman Jiang Jianqing at the launching ceremony.
More than 2000 Chinese companies currently operate in Germany. In 2014, China became the biggest investing country in Germany with 190 direct investment projects.
“Germany sits at the center of Europe with a solid economic basis and good investment environment,” Jiang said, adding that his bank has made contributions to local labour markets.
According to him, the number of employees in ICBC’s German branches increased by 75 percent in the last three years. Local skilled workers were working in various important positions.
Jiang added that the bank’s overseas operations expanded fast in recent years. Currently, ICBC operates in 42 countries and regions with nearly 400 overseas institutes. In 2014, the total assets of the overseas institutes increased by more than 30 percent year-on-year and reached $236 billion.
