OREANDA-NEWS. December 02, 2014. ICBC was formally approved by the central bank of Myanmar to set up a local branch, becoming the first Chinese bank permitted to run business in the country. This will enable the Bank to further improve its international service network in the ASEAN region and constantly enhance its cross-border financial service capability.

In recent years, trade and economic cooperation between China and Myanmar has shown a promising growth momentum, with China being the biggest trading partner of Myanmar for many consecutive years. Increasingly deepening ties in economy, trade and investment have brought incentives to the development of the financial industry, but also raised new requirements for banking services. According to an ICBC official, the Bank attaches great importance to the expansion of the Southeast Asian market, and has established eight institutions in the ten ASEAN member states, covering the entire Mekong River area.

The well-organized layout of physical institutions has laid a solid foundation for regional coordination and complementation of the Bank's financial businesses. Since Myanmar opened up in 2011, ICBC has got a head start by being the first to set up a local representative office, actively bid for entry into the local market, and successfully won the bid out of more than 30 offshore banks.

In the future, aiming to promote trade and economic ties between the two countries, the Bank will focus on the sectors, enterprises and projects supported by the Myanmar government and in which China holds competitive advantages, actively involve itself in bilateral and multilateral trade, infrastructure construction and manufacturing, and provide comprehensive financial services to Chinese, Burmese and foreign-funded enterprises for local investment and business.