Beijing has opened the first branch of one of China’s 4 largest state-owned banks, the Bank of China, in Saudi Arabia.The Bank of China opened last Tuesday in the Saudi capital Riyadh, in the presence of the bank’s president, Liu Jin, the Chinese ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Chen Weiqing, the governor of the Saudi central bank, Ayman Al-Sayari, and other officials, according to Newspaper China’s Global Times.
“Establishing a branch in Saudi Arabia to serve trade and investment exchanges is a strong initiative to promote high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative with strong funding,” Liu said.
“The bank will continue to improve its global service network and provide high-quality financial services, which will contribute to deepening cooperation between China and Arab countries, between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council, and between China and Saudi Arabia,” he said.
Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chen Weiqing said the opening of Bank of China’s first branch in Saudi Arabia is “the fruit of the continuous development of friendly relations between China and Saudi Arabia, and notes that China firmly recognizes Saudi Arabia’s financial regulation, investment environment and location advantages, which represents a new level of cooperation between the two countries in finance, which will provide stronger support for bilateral practical cooperation.”
The Governor of the Saudi Central Bank, Ayman Al-Sayari, stressed that “the establishment of the branch is another milestone in deepening practical cooperation between the two countries, and is of great importance in expanding bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and the Saudi side will continue to support and facilitate the development of BOC and other Chinese-funded companies in the Kingdom.”
Source: Sputnik
