ICBC interested in cooperation with Nigerian Oceanic Bank

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)<601398><1398>, the largest commercial bank in China, has indicated the interest to partner with Nigerian Oceanic Bank International Plc in export and trade financing in a bid to further boost the economic ties between the two countries, sources reported.

In a business meeting between the management of ICBC and Oceanic Bank last week, Wang Zhenglong, deputy head of Bank Department of ICBC expressed that the partnership would create a good opportunity for both banks to finance trade flows between Nigeria and China as well as other parts of Asia as ICBC shares complementary features with Oceanic Bank.

Executives from Oceanic Bank also urged the Chinese lender to further its operations in the African country, therefore ”to key into the exponential growth in the Nigerian economy in areas of trade finance, project management, industrial machines, infrastructural development, renewable power and telecommunications”.

ICBC has been actively expanding overseas in recent years. It has just completed its acquisition of a 20% stake in South Africa's Standard Bank for US$5.5 billion.