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In response to competitive moves made by overseas banks which are now permitted to handle foreign- exchange business in Shanghai, the Bank of China (BOC) on Friday made three major moves of its own.
The first was the starting of an online banking service in Lujiazui financial and trade zone in the city's Pudong New District.
The second was the granting of a 12-billion-yuan cooperation contract and a separate loan of 200 million US dollars to the China Eastern Airlines, the first airlines to be listed in China's civil aviation sector.
And the third was the opening of the Bank International (China) Limited, a security company affiliated to the BOC and specializing in fund and assets management, stock exchanges and bond trade.
Liu Mingkang, president of the BOC, said that against the background of financial and economic globalization, providing a range of banking services including insurance, commercial and investment banking has become an increasing trend in China.
Now that China has entered the World Trade Organization, the domestic investment climate will continue to improve. Therefore, the BOC will continue to launch more uptodate banking services to guarantee the smooth operation of local businesses, he said.
(China Daily April 1, 2002)
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