ICBC to set up branches in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, the world's biggest lender by market value, got approval from local regulators to set up branches in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

Jiang Jianqing, ICBC's chairman, said on Sunday that the bank aims to become an international commercial lender, and that by the year's end it will set up six new overseas units.

In the first nine months, its overseas units made a profit of $796 million, up 27.2 percent year-on-year, exceeding domestic growth.

On Nov 8, the lender was also given the green light by Argentina's central bank to buy an 80 percent stake in Standard Bank Argentina and its two affiliates for $650 million. The other two units are asset manager Standard Investments and Inversora Diagnol, a commercial service provider.

Earlier this year, ICBC was also allowed to establish the first Chinese bank outlet in Poland, and buy an 80 percent stake in Bank of East Asia Ltd's business in the United States.