Chinese, Turkish banks launch China business desk

ISTANBUL - The Bank of China and Turkey's AKbank jointly launched a China business desk here Tuesday in a bid to provide various kinds of services to both Chinese and Turkish firms and enterprises.

The announcement was made by AKbank Chief Executive Officer Hakan Binbasgil and Executive Manager of Corporate Banking Unit of the Bank of China Wu Tianpeng in a press conference.

Binbasgil expressed his welcome to two Chinese bank staff members to join in AKbank for the China business desk in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey.

He said it is important for the Chinese and Turkish banks to have cooperation and provide financial services to companies of the two countries since both China and Turkey enjoy fast economic development despite the worldwide economic crisis.

The Turkish banker pledged that his bank would provide better and fast financial and consultant services as more and more Chinese companies come to Turkey for investment in the fields of energy, mining and other sectors.

He said more than 450 Chinese companies and enterprises are actively undertaking trade and investment in Turkey while the bilateral trade jumped to $24 billion in 2011.

Wu Tianpeng said at the press conference that the Bank of China has confidence and interest in Turkey, which has a great potential for economic development.

He said it is the first step to jointly launch the China desk and it will open its branch in the future as the Bank of China has a long-term cooperation approach to Turkey.

The two banks signed a cooperation agreement two months ago and the China business desk covers financial services of Chinese currency and other foreign currencies.

Trading with local currencies will enable Turkish and Chinese banks and companies to avoid the risk exposure of US dollar.

The Central Bank of Turkey and the People's Bank of China signed a $1.59-billion currency swap agreement in February 2012 during Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's visit to Turkey.

The three-year agreement enables the use of local currencies -- the renminbi (RMB) and the Turkish lira -- in bilateral trade and is extendable by mutual consent.

It aims to enhance financial cooperation, promote bilateral trade and ensure regional financial stability. China and Turkey reaffirmed the aim of boosting bilateral trade from the current $24 billion to $100 billion by 2020.