, China

ICBC unveils first Philippine branch

It is the 12th foreign lender to secure a license after the country loosened up the industry to global players.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) commenced its operations in the Philippines two months after it secured its license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), reports BusinessWorld.

Located in Taguig, Metro Manila, the branch started its operation after registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission in August and securing a banking license from the central bank in November.

Following the law passed in 2014 which loosens up local banking to global players, ICBC is the 12th foreign lender to secure a license from the central bank to start operations in the Philippines. The lender is also the first China bank to set up operations in the country after the Bank of China’s kickoff back in 2002.

ICBC’s Manila venture comes amidst warmer trade ties between China and the Philippines after President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement of a ‘pivot’ towards China during his Beijing visit in 2016.

Join Asian Banking & Finance community
Since you're here...

...there are many ways you can work with us to advertise your company and connect to your customers. Our team can help you dight and create an advertising campaign, in print and digital, on this website and in print magazine.

We can also organize a real life or digital event for you and find thought leader speakers as well as industry leaders, who could be your potential partners, to join the event. We also run some awards programmes which give you an opportunity to be recognized for your achievements during the year and you can join this as a participant or a sponsor.

Let us help you drive your business forward with a good partnership!

Exclusives

Private fund tokens may be the future of investing
Kinexys seeks to keep a token’s sensitive financial information from prying eyes.
More tax perks could drive Philippine SMEs to go ‘green’
The Southeast Asian nation’s 1.1 million small businesses can be a target for green loans. 
Asia struggles with G20 payment targets
The ultimate goal is for cross-border payments to achieve “the speed of the internet.”