The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the largest commercial bank in China, has applied for banking licenses in the United States and Russia as it seeks to expand outside its home market.

"We have applied to regulatory authorities in the United States, Russia and other places to set up operations," said Jiang Jianqing, chairman of ICBC, after the bank's annual meeting held in Beijing lately.

The bank is awaiting approval to upgrade its representative office in New York to a branch that can offer lending and deposit services, the US Federal Reserve said last month.

ICBC also planed to upgrade its representative office in Moscow to a branch. Having received a nod from the Chinese government, the bank submitted an application to Russian supervisory authorities for examinations and approval earlier, said Jiang.

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