Gateway to Europe

Gao says ICBC Europe now employs a strong team of 300 people, of which 80 are based in Luxembourg. In addition, ICBC also has a branch in Frankfurt and a subsidiary in London. Although both entities are managed by ICBC's head office in Beijing, they cooperate with ICBC Europe extensively for businesses on a daily basis.

In 2012, ICBC also established three centers, focusing on cash management, private banking and investment banking respectively. All three centers are located in Paris, a city frequently visited by delegations of Chinese outbound businesses.

Gao says the establishment of these centers signifies a milestone for ICBC Europe, expanding the bank's business focus beyond traditional retail and commercial banking activities such as deposits, loans and trade finance.

She says one factor behind ICBC Europe's focus on investment banking is the growing number of Chinese outbound merger and acquisition deals in European countries in recent years.

"We can help to provide financial consultancy to Chinese companies at early stages of the M&A process, followed by services such as evaluating the cost of the M&A activities once a target is found. We also help clients structure a deal. In the post M&A stage, we offer clients commercial banking services," Gao says.

ICBC Europe's private banking service has helped many of ICBC's existing clients, who are high-net-worth individuals, to invest in Europe. Investment options range from real estate and luxury products to acquisitions of small businesses, for example, vineyards. It also helps Chinese clients manage immigration into Europe through the investment route.

ICBC Europe has also helped European clients to invest in renminbi products and opportunities in China and has been closely working with the team in Beijing on new yuan products, Gao says.

More opportunities are in the offing in line with the rapid internationalization of the Chinese currency in recent years, she says, adding that investors in overseas financial centers such as Luxembourg can now invest in overseas and domestic renminbi products.

An ideal example of opportunities emerging in recent years is the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme, launched by the Chinese government in 2011, which allows overseas institutional investors to invest in China's financial markets.

Such opportunities have sparked the interest of many Western financial centers, including Luxembourg, London, Frankfurt, Paris and Switzerland. To compete for such opportunities, financial services companies in each center are now keenly developing renminbi products and services, she says.

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