Industrial & Commercial Bank of China aims expansion

Establishment of branches in Malaysia and acquisitions in Thailand commence ICBC's Southeast Asia expansion move.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has filed application with the Malaysian regulators on setting up branches in the Southeast Asian country, according to Jiang Jianqing, ICBC president in a report in China Knowledge.

ICBC will get the license soon and will be allowed to open four branches in Malaysia, the Straits Times reported, citing an unnamed senior Malaysian government official as saying.

Jiang also revealed that ICBC expects to complete the ACL Bank's deal in the beginning of next year.

In October, ICBC had signed an agreement with Thailand's largest lender, Bangkok Bank, to purchase a 19.26 percent stake in ACL Bank. Pursuant to the agreement, the Chinese bank will buy Bangkok Bank's ACL Bank shares at 11.5 Thai baht ($0.35) apiece.