Bank Offers Firm Cut-rate ServicesThe Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country's largest commercial bank, Wednesday inked a deal with Hong Kong-based CITIC Pacific Ltd to provide a variety of financial services.The agreement calls for ICBC to offer the company such services as contracted deposits, foreign currency loans, intermediary and consulting businesses and personal money management at cut rates, the bank said Wednesday in a press release. The agreement marks a new effort by ICBC to win more multinational customers, it said. With more Chinese enterprises expanding overseas, the demand for financial services is growing. This deal will give a boost to ICBC's overseas expansion plan, it said. CITIC Pacific is a subsidiary of the China International Trust and Investment Corporation Group, which has a core business investing in infrastructure projects. It is headquartered in Hong Kong and developed both in Hong Kong and on the Chinese mainland. Earlier this week, ICBC announced it has signed an agreement with ICBC Asia Ltd to merge all assets and business of its Hong Kong branch with the main group. The reshuffle involved total assets of HK$13 billion (US$1.7 billion) and was scheduled to be completed before July 3, said ICBC President Jiang Jianqing at the signing ceremony. |
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