Bank of China Expedites its Development in Canada

Stability makes for a favorable place to do business, but it's a double-edged sword

The first Chinese bank established in Canada, Bank of China-Canada (BOCC) will mark its 20-year anniversary in Canada this year.

"The last 20 years has been full of twists and turns," said Wang Lijun, president and CEO of BOCC.

Although BOCC ranked in the rear position among BOC's 36 overseas branches, it has grown.

"The development has speeded up remarkably since 2009," Wang said. "Our strategy has been: 'grasp opportunities, expand networks, enrich products and expedite development'."

BOCC opened its first branch in Toronto's Chinatown in 1994, followed by the Vancouver branch in 1995, the third branch in Scarborough in 2005 and Markham in 2008. The number of branches has increased from four to ten since 2009.

In line with its development strategy, BOCC established branches in North York in 2010, Calgary, Richmond and Mississauga in 2011, Burnaby in 2012 and Montral in 2013.

The current structures of BOCC's financial products are targeted to new Chinese immigrants, Chinese enterprises in Canada and Canadian enterprises that plan to invest in China.

"Being a country of low population, abundant resources, stable politics and a sound legal system, Canada has a sustainable economy, which is the foundation of stable financial system," Wang said.

However, stability can be a double-edged sword, he explained, because it comes at the cost of strict regulation, which can be a challenge to a bank.

"For example, the bank is asked to follow high standards in anti-money laundering, provide new products, and write staff policies and procedures to mitigate the risks of doing business in a foreign land," he said.

How to grasp opportunities and meet the challenge is always the challenge to BOCC.

As of August, 2013, BOCC has maintained zero bad assets and growth of more than 15 percent in profit rate over the last three years.

BOCC also gets involved in promoting economic and trade exchanges between China and Canada by helping local government and communities better understand Chinese culture and change their stereotypes about Chinese enterprises.

A Canadian business delegation was invited by BOCC to visit China during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. "When they saw the brilliant sight of Pudong lit up at night, they never thought that China could develop to such an incredible stage," said Wang.

Currently, BOCC has aimed to provide financial services to businesses in facilitating their Canada-China trade and investment activities, in particular the Chinese "Go Global" enterprises, corporate and individual customers, local communities, visa students and temporary residents in Canada.

BOCC has also launched programs to help Chinese corporate and individual customers invest and settle in Canada.

According to Wang, BOCC will strive to become the first-choice bank of "Go-Global" Chinese enterprises investing in Canada and the banking partner of Canadian corporations having business ties with China.

Through its branch network in the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec and its 220 employees across Canada, BOCC's assets had reached to C$1.33 billion as of March 31, 2013.