Global reach, resources and reputation for ICBC(2)

Overseas localization

While strengthening its overseas network, ICBC has shifted the focus of its international strategy to localized, mainstream and differentiated development. The change enabled the bank to make greater contributions to local economic and social development of target countries and their bilateral trade and investment with China.

With great development potential and competitive benefits, ICBC has become a magnet for local talent, helping local governments tackle employment issues.

"Our bank now has 11,000 employees overseas, and only 700 of them are from China," said Jiang Jianqing, ICBC board chairman.

The bank places great importance on the integration of cultures. It respects and facilitates the various religious, cultural and even dining habits of its overseas staff and promotes mutual respect and cooperation between foreign and Chinese employees.

ICBC Indonesia has a special prayer room for Islam employees, and launched bilingual learning programs to help local employees and their Chinese colleagues better understand each other.

ICBC Sydney holds a monthly staff party and organizes lectures on Chinese and Western cultures to help promote cultural exchanges.

To better serve local economies, ICBC's overseas institutions had extended $126.9 billion in loans by the end of July, an increase of 17.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the bank has been extending its key product lines to foreign markets, creating a series of foreign services such as FX clearing, cross-border RMB settlement, global cash management, investment banking, asset management, precious metal trading and private banking.

ICBC also adopted localized practices individually tailored to each overseas institution to meet the needs of its specific market, and legal and regulatory environment.

By the end of July, ICBC had some 4,000 global cash management customers in more than 50 countries. Its cross-border RMB transactions approached 6.7 trillion yuan with an RMB settlement network extending to 75 countries and regions.

To improve its service capacity in the local market, ICBC Canada offered professional aid to a Canadian provincial government in the issuance of 2.5 billion yuan-dominated AAA level offshore bonds in Hong Kong in 2013. It was the first foreign government to have a try on dim sum bonds, which are issued outside of China but denominated in RMB rather than local currencies.

Headquartered in Luxembourg and operating in several European countries, ICBC Europe has been providing Chinese and European customers with a variety of financial products and services, especially in RMB business.

ICBC Europe is now an important provider of diverse RMB products in local markets including deposits, loans, settlement in renminbi as well as foreign exchange settlement and sale. In 2014, ICBC Europe was awarded Best Bank in Luxembourg by the monthly magazine Euromoney.

As the first RMB clearing bank outside China designated by the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, ICBC Singapore boasted the RMB clearing volume of over 10 trillion yuan by April 8, 2014.

Its peak volume on a single day increased from 2 billion yuan to close to 300 billion yuan, significantly supporting the fast and healthy growth of Singapore's offshore RMB market.

ICBC also strives to implement the organic unification of economic and social responsibilities, establishing the image of a responsible bank in each country.

It operates by supporting the protection of the environment and resources, participates in community services and runs charitable programs.

Its branches in Thailand, New York and Sydney provide financial support to environmentally friendly industries such as clean energy development, emission reduction and seawater desalination.

ICBC Malaysia has made donations to a local retired policemen's union for several consecutive years. ICBC Vietnam financially aided road resurfacing for a local village and established an ICBC charitable foundation in Laos that contributes to programs for public well-being in the country.