Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is, reportedly, looking for some retail banking acquisitions, as part of a strategy to expand its footprint in the Middle East region.
The acquisition plans are expected to bolster ICBC’s profit from the region by 50% during the financial year of 2014. Furthermore, the bank is also drawing plans to triple international earnings by 2016, while targeting more business with Middle East firms.
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ICBC Middle East CEO Zhou Xiaodong was quoted by Bloomberg as saying, "We’re looking to see if there are acquisition opportunities."
"It’s a good strategy. Part of the reason why ICBC grew so fast in Hong Kong is because of acquisitions," Xiaodong added.
As part of its strategy to further strengthen its presence in the Middle East, ICBC is also considering opening retail bank branches in the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. ICBC is reportedly in talks with the Central Bank of the UAE to launch retail branches in the country.
In addition to tapping the retail banking opportunities in the Middle East, ICBC is also considering boosting the commercial banking business in the region.
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By GlobalData"There’s a deep blue sea of opportunity for ICBC to develop its business in the Middle East. The Middle East business will play a very important role," Zhou concluded.
