Earlier, ICBC secured a wholesale banking license from the UAE’s Central Bank in December 2009. The license to ICBC is also the first banking license since 1982 issued to a non-Persian Gulf region lender.
The opening of Abu Dhabi Branch means ICBC is allowed to conduct business using the UAE’s local currency (dirham) and join the local electronic clearing system and cheque clearing system.
In 2008, ICBC opened ICBC Middle East in UAE’s Dubai and Doha Branch in Qatar’s capital.
The new Abu Dhabi Branch together with the two ICBC subsidiaries in Dubai and Doha underscore ICBC’s footprint in the Middle East.
ICBC said that thanks to the ‘offshore’ and ‘onshore’ licenses issued to the ICBC’s three subsidiaries, ICBC can now spread its wings in the region to achieve best possible premium.
