Bank of China boosts development of Belt and Road

BOC leveraging strengths to bolster connectivity, trade among BRI participants

As the Chinese bank with the longest history and highest level of globalized operations, Bank of China — also known as BOC — has offered strong support for the development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

BOC is leveraging its history of 111 years and its extensive network of overseas operations to offer high-standard services to the countries and regions involved in the BRI, aiming to assist in high-quality local growth and benefit the local people.

The BRI is a global initiative proposed by the Chinese authorities in 2013, aiming to build a community with a shared future through strengthening economic and cultural exchanges, facilitating connectivity and promoting the free flow of goods, capital and other resources.

BOC has been an active player in implementing the initiative since it was launched.

BOC is a participant, an implementer and also a beneficiary of the BRI. It has played its role in bridging China and other countries and regions involved in the initiative through sustainably growing its operations there.

Expanding financial network

One of BOC's commitments to the BRI is ensuring the circulation of capital through expanding and improving its financial network in countries and regions involved in the initiative.

In September, BOC's branch bank in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, became operational, marking that the bank's operations have covered 64 countries and regions overseas, including 44 countries and regions involved in the BRI. BOC is now the leading Chinese bank in terms of the number of Belt and Road countries and regions it serves.

At the same time, BOC is also committed to assisting the facilitation of trade and investment in Belt and Road countries and regions, through promoting cooperation in the use of currencies of China and other Belt and Road countries for settlements.

Among Chinese banks, it was the first to release the cross-border renminbi index and offshore renminbi index. It has promoted settlements with RMB in 13 countries and regions worldwide, with an annual RMB settlement volume surpassing 700 trillion yuan ($95.2 trillion). In the meantime, it has also expanded the portfolio of its cross-border products and services.

Through its financial services, BOC has offered crucial support for the construction of key projects in countries and regions involved in the BRI to benefit local economies and residents.

BOC has granted credits to more than 1,000 projects in Belt and Road countries and regions, with a combined amount surpassing $290 billion.

The landmark projects that have received BOC's financial support include the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia, the China-Laos Railway, the port of Chancay in Peru and the Bukhara wind power facility in Uzbekistan — which is the largest single-plant wind power generating project in Central Asia.

Some smaller projects financially backed by BOC, like the Doboj Hospital in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are also of great significance. These projects are playing an important role in helping to lift the sense of happiness and gain for local residents.

To help to effectively solve the fundraising problems for countries and regions involved in the BRI, BOC has teamed up with a number of international financial institutions to enrich its portfolio of products and services.

Over the past decade, BOC has developed collaborations with such institutions as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, International Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank. It is worth mentioning that BOC was the first bank to sign an agreement with the Silk Road Fund to provide it with a line of credit.

To date, BOC is the leading bank among all the international players with highest frequency in issuing bonds targeting the development and construction of the BRI, and the bank with the largest operational scale and scope as well as the richest currency portfolio when it comes to the sphere of the BRI.

BOC is also the leading Chinese financial institution in helping businesses in Belt and Road countries and regions raise funds through issuing Panda Bonds, in terms of market share. Panda Bonds are reminbi-denominated debts sold by overseas issuers in China.

Over the past years, BOC has made many "firsts" in this market, including helping Poland to issue Europe's first Panda Bond in China and assisting Hungary in issuing the first sovereign Panda Bond targeting BRI cooperation.

Beyond finance

BOC's engagement in the BRI has gone beyond the realm of finance.

For instance, the bank has organized a total of 113 business matchmaking events to date to facilitate trade, investment and technological cooperation for companies in China and in other Belt and Road countries and regions.

The bank's statistics show that more than 40,000 enterprises from 102 countries and regions involved in the initiative have taken part in the events and achieved fruitful results.

In addition, BOC has held eight sessions of workshops targeting international financial cooperation and exchanges, as well as training high-profile professionals for the financial industry in Belt and Road countries and regions.

Another focus of BOC to serve the BRI is on promoting international production capacity cooperation.

To date, China has established production capacity cooperation mechanisms with more than 40 countries. BOC has offered services including payment settlements, project financing, equity investment and financial leasing for this cooperative scheme.

Another highlight of BOC's operations is supporting the green and low-carbon development in China and other countries and regions involved in the BRI, through its financial tools.

China is currently the largest market for green credits and the second-largest for green bonds. Riding this trend, BOC has designed and developed a number of products and services, including providing credit lines and issuing bonds targeting green and low-carbon growth, aiming to finance projects and create platforms to assist BRI countries' transformation toward sustainable development.

Digitalization move

In an era of digitalization, BOC has been constantly innovating to offer convenience for clients in Belt and Road countries and regions.

As the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing, are playing an increasingly crucial role in empowering the financial industry's development, BOC is using these cutting-edge financial technologies to help Belt and Road countries and regions accelerate industrial transformation and enhance their innovation capabilities.

The bank is helping these countries and regions in the construction of digital infrastructure and the integration of technology, finance and industries.

BOC has also been proactively promoting the standardization of the financial industry in Belt and Road regions based on the guidelines jointly released by the Chinese Ministry of Finance and other similar institutions in 20 related countries in 2017. In this regard, BOC has joined hands with other Chinese commercial banks to launch a series of programs since that year, aiming to use Chinese wisdom to help Belt and Road countries in financial infrastructure construction and the industry's opening-up based on rules and standards.

Renewing efforts

Looking to the future, BOC will continue to improve financial connectivity to help to push the Belt and Road economies on a track of sustainable and high-quality development.

BOC will offer long-term and stable financial support to countries and regions involved in the BRI to ensure their stable, resilient and prosperous development.

BOC will actively support the construction of key facilities such as railroads, highways, seaports, civil aviation and telecommunications to ensure the connectivity of the countries and regions involved in the BRI. It will also highlight cultivating new growth areas for the countries and regions by focusing on green development, innovation-driven growth and the digital economy.

BOC will set its sight on establishing a long-term collaboration mechanism through partnering with institutions and industrial associations in Belt and Road countries and regions.

It will also improve its capacity in integrating global resources, and use multiple platforms like funds, securities, insurance and asset management to provide comprehensive service solutions to its clients in Belt and Road regions and beyond.

Up to now, China has signed more than 200 cooperative agreements with 152 countries and 32 international organizations centering on the theme of BRI construction and development. The initiative has brought these stakeholders into a community with a shared future.

BOC has played an active role in this process over the past decade, and in the future, it will continue to make its contribution to further improving connectivity and facilitating trade, investment and cultural exchanges in Belt and Road regions.