OCBC's loan growth in Chongqing tripled in November 2016

Thanks to the launch of the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative.

OCBC Bank’s business in Chongqing has received a strong fillip from the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI), in the one year since the unveiling of the third government-to-government bilateral project between Singapore and China. The CCI promotes cooperation between the two cities of Singapore and Chongqing on multiple fronts including financial services.

Leveraging the CCI, OCBC Bank has successfully inked partnership agreements with local financial institutions to collaborate in a broad range of business areas and deepened relationships with leading state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to meet their financing and business expansion needs.

The increased business activity arising from OCBC Bank’s collaborative efforts has led to a significant boost in loans growth which tripled year-on-year in November 2016 at its Chongqing branch operated by wholly-owned banking subsidiary OCBC Wing Hang China. This growth, with strong credit quality, was broad-based across the key sectors of the Chongqing economy.

In November 2016, a year after the launch of the CCI, OCBC Wing Hang China was ranked top among 15 leading foreign banks in Chongqing in terms of customer loans growth.

Ms Kng Hwee Tin, Executive Director and CEO of OCBC Wing Hang China, said: “When the CCI was launched, we were excited about the many new business opportunities this would create, particularly with trade and investment flows between China’s western hinterland and the Southeast Asian economies on the rise. We are seeing good results. On the back of the CCI, we entered into an agreement with the Chongqing Financial Affairs Office to support the development of the municipal’s financial services sector as it evolves in tandem with Chongqing’s economic growth. We then positioned ourselves to capture these opportunities by establishing alliances with the local banks and supporting leading government enterprises in their business expansion. We believe that the CCI will continue to provide the platform for businesses of both countries to thrive.”