ICBC (Thai) plans to back Thailand-China rail projects
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Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Thai) expects to participate in financial support of the new railway upgrades while helping Thai corporates in the construction sector raise funds in offshore markets.
Last week, Thailand and China signed an agreement to build new railways. China will build two routes, the first from Nong Khai province to the Map Ta Phut deep-sea port in Rayong province via Nakhon Ratchasima and Saraburi’s Kaeng Khoi district, totalling 734 kilometres. A second 133km line will run from Kaeng Khoi to Bangkok.
This project is expected to lure Chinese investment into the Kingdom, while Thai construction companies will also benefit. This is an opportunity for ICBC (Thai) to help those companies raise funds in both the Chinese and US currencies, said Zhigang Li, the bank’s chief executive officer.
Thailand’s investment in improving its railway system will be meaningful for its economic development, as China has done for the past several years, he said.
He said ICBC aimed to take a greater role in investment banking because its network includes Hong Kong and Singapore, both of which are financial centres.
ICBC (Thai) has a policy of being the first choice for Chinese clients in Thailand, and Li said it would act as a bridge between them and Thai customers for bilateral activities.
He said that besides the rail projects, Chinese companies were moving into Thailand in other industries such as rubber.
Even though China has toned down its economic growth, Li believes consumption there will still be on the rise, which is an opportunity for Thai exporters.
He said the Thai economy in 2015 would be better than this year, so his bank’s asset growth should also be higher. Still, its assets grew by 10 per cent this year, compared with less than 5 per cent for the banking industry overall.
Thais account for 16-17 per cent of ICBC (Thai)’s customer base, and the bank plans to increase that figure. However, Li acknowledged that the competition in retail banking in this country was furious.
Next year, the bank plans to launch e-banking and mobile banking to cater to Thai and Chinese customers, he said.
For Thai corporate clients, the strategy of ICBC (Thai) is to collaborate with local banks to offer syndicated loans.
