OREANDA-NEWS. September 11, 2014. BOC released its 2014 interim results, and grabbed market attention with its impressive performance in overseas business.

The pre-tax profit of BOC overseas business in the first half of this year increased substantially by 35.8% comparing with the same period last year. The percentage of its overseas assets and pre-tax profit in the Group's total assets and pre-tax profits rose to 27.7% and 22.2% respectively. As the most internationalized Chinese bank, BOC accelerated the development of its overseas business, which has epitomized the initiative of the Chinese banking industry to speed up the "going global" pace and vigorously expand international markets in recent years.

Vast Opportunities Brought by Chinese Enterprises "Going Global" and RMB Internationalization

According to Yue Yi, Executive Vice President of BOC in charge of overseas business, the prominent performance of the Bank's overseas business benefited in part from the continued consolidation of its traditional advantages in international settlement, trade finance and foreign exchange. In the first half year, the Bank's domestic institutions completed international trade settlements of USD 782.4 billion, accounting for around one third of the country's total volume of imports and exports; the business volume of export double factoring reached USD 5.658 billion, ranked first worldwide; settlements and sales of foreign exchange amounted to USD 376 billion, securing it a leading position in the market.

At the same time, Chinese enterprises’ "going global" and RMB internationalization have given a lift to its overseas business growth. In the first half year, BOC supported a total of 1,187 "going global" projects of Chinese enterprises, and provided loan commitments of US\\$102.8 billion, up 26% year on year. Among which, overseas M&A loan projects numbered 100; export buyer’s credit projects 53; overseas business loan projects 1,034. It also successfully supported a number of overseas M&A projects by Chinese enterprises, including Luoyang Molybdenum Group's acquisition of Northparkes Mines in Australia, and Fosun International's acquisition of Caixa Seguros e Saude, an insurer in Portugal.

As for cross-border RMB business, BOC completed cross-border RMB settlements of RMB2.79 trillion and clearings of RMB112.5 trillion in the first six months, up 63% and 99% year on year respectively. It ranked the first among its global peers and became the largest RMB service provider in the offshore market. Its Frankfurt Branch was designated by the People's Bank of China as the first RMB clearing bank in the euro zone, which has further improved its 7?24h global RMB clearing service network underpinned by its operation centers in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Accelerate its March into the Overseas Business "Blue Ocean" by Properly Taking Four Measures

"Overseas business is the 'blue ocean' for BOC to win out amid competition." Mr. Yue Yi expressed, "BOC will put in more resources to establish strong relations between its domestic and overseas channels so that 'business can be handled equally well regardless of whether it originates abroad or at home'; cross-border and complex businesses can be handled through coordination and collaboration between domestic and overseas institutions, as we're firmly committed to grow and consolidate our overseas advantages."

Next, BOC will take four measures in an effort to secure a market leading position in several key sectors. Firstly, consolidate its position and leading edges as a major RMB clearing conduit worldwide by leveraging the RMB internationalization business, and fully carry out RMB business in trade finance, treasury trading and capital markets, striving to become the world's biggest RMB business service provider. Secondly, closely track and follow domestic and foreign enterprises with cross-border operations, and endeavor to become the first choice for "going-global" Chinese enterprises, for the Chinese operations of Fortune Global 500 enterprises and premium foreign customers, first-choice banking partner for the Chinese operations of international peers and for the overseas operations of domestic peers, as well as the guide and pillar of private enterprises and individuals going international. Thirdly, consolidate and exert its traditional characteristics and brand advantages in trade finance, deepen specialized operation and refined management, strengthen product and service innovation, meet customers' demand for all-round cross-border financial services, and maintain its leading position in the international trade settlement market. Fourthly, continuously press ahead with self-growth-based extension of overseas institutions as planned, accelerate the construction of overseas e-channels, further expand and optimize the layout of its global network, and actively build a properly-distributed and integrated global service system with sound functions.