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ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private sector bank, has sharpened its global ambitions by now entering China. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated its first branch in China.
"We are happy to announce the opening of our branch in China. Our branch in Shanghai will allow us to play a greater role in the growing trade and investment opportunity between India and China. We foresee a heightened amount of bilateral activity taking place between the two countries in the near future. With the opening of this branch, ICICI Bank is strategically poised to take advantage of the increased opportunities,” said Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank.
ICICI Bank had first opened its representative office in Shanghai in 2003 and in March this year it got the regulatory approval to expand it into a branch. This branch will engage in banking activities permitted under the guidelines of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.
The lender will facilitate international trade between China and other countries, support Chinese corporates and EPC (engineering, production and construction) contractors bidding for infrastructure projects and funding requirements in India. It will also cater to the needs of business expansion projects of Indian joint ventures and subsidiaries of Indian entities in China. Apart from this, it will also handle remittances from China to India.
The bank’s global footprint includes a subsidiary in United Kingdom and Canada. Apart from this, the bank has international branches in United States, China, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Dubai International Finance Centre. It also has representative offices in United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Several other lenders such as State Bank of India, UCO Bank, Allahabad Bank among others also have a presence in China.
