OREANDA-NEWS. December 06, 2012. ICBC celebrated the acquisition of Standard Bank Argentina in a ceremony held in Buenos Aires, the capital of the Argentine Republic, reported the press-centre of ICBC. 

Buying stakes in Standard Bank Argentina makes ICBC the first Chinese financial institution to enter Argentine market, said ICBC Chairman Jiang Jianqing at the ceremony. Not only is this significant for the realization of greater bilateral cooperation, but also it boosts the trade and economic ties between China and Argentina. In the next step, ICBC is committed to supporting the new Standard Bank Argentina. Leveraging its strong expertise, powerful business platforms along with a global network, ICBC will serve the booming trades between the two countries by offering a full spectrum of best-quality, highly efficient financial services to personal customers and corporate clients in Argentina, including local companies, multinational corporations and Chinese companies.

ICBC concluded an agreement on August 5, 2011 (Beijing time) with the Standard Bank of South Africa ("Standard Bank") and the holding companies of the Werthein and Sielecki families on the sale and purchase of 80% stake in Standard Bank Argentina (Standard Bank's shares will be reduced to 20% after the takeover). On November 8, 2012 (Argentina time) ICBC got approval from the Central Bank of Argentina on the acquisition. The acquisition makes ICBC the first Chinese financial institution to enter Argentina with a commercial banking license. It also enables ICBC to build a strong presence in Latin America and expand its network in America to better serve the fast growing China-Argentina trades. This is the first acquisition of a Latin American financial institution by a Chinese bank, also the first time a Chinese bank acquires a mainstream commercial bank outside China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau). After the takeover, ICBC Argentina Branch will become the largest Chinese bank in Latin America with the most extensive branch network and biggest business scale.