China Construction Bank (CCB, 中國建設銀行) yesterday opened a branch in Taipei in a bid to tap the local banking market.
CCB is the third Chinese bank to set up a branch in the city after Bank of China (中國銀行) and Bank of Communications (交通銀行).
“By opening a branch in Taipei, we aim to better serve customers and deepen cooperation with Taiwanese peers,” CCB president Zhang Jianguo (張建國) told a press conference.
PARTNERSHIPS
CCB, the second-largest Chinese bank by capitalization, has forged partnerships with 35 Taiwanese lenders.
It owns Jian Xin Life Insurance Co (建信人壽), a joint venture with Taiwan’s China Life Insurance Co (中國人壽).
The Taipei branch, located across from Taipei 101 in the city’s Xinyi District (信義), will focus on corporate banking, providing business clients with lending, deposit, trade finance and other services, Zhang said.
CCB has not stopped lending amid reports of a liquidity squeeze, he said.
NORMAL OPERATIONS
“CCB has maintained normal operations and has been able to supply funds to other banks via interbank [loans],” he added.
CCB’s loan-to-deposit ratio stands at 64 percent, lower than the statutory cap at 75 percent, Zhang said, suggesting it has comfortable room for growing outstanding loans.
CCB has embarked on aggressive overseas expansions this year, setting up a subsidiary in Russia in March and another subsidiary in Dubai last month.
EXPANSION
It plans to open branches in Canada and Luxembourg and set up an offshore unit at its branch in San Francisco.
CCB has 15 branches or subsidiaries outside of China, where it owns more than 13,600 offices.
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