UOB became the first foreign bank to open a branch in Zhongshan City in China’s Guangdong Province, the Singapore bank said Thursday, adding it was seeking to provide more client support in the mainland’s Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Zhongshan is a key transportation hub linking the GBA’s eastern and western cities, including the west bank of the Pearl River’s manufacturing, IT, oil and gas and logistics sectors, UOB said in a statement.
The city has also seen strong trade and investment flows with the Belt and Road Initiative’s connecting countries, with Zhongshan’s outbound investment to BRI countries at US$430 million in 2018, the statement said.
“The UOB Zhongshan Branch affirms our long-term commitment to China and reflects our confidence in China’s GBA development plan,” Peter Foo, president and CEO of UOB (China), said in the statement. “It strengthens our presence in South China and enables us to expand services to the west of the GBA. The branch is also connected to UOB’s regional network to help our customers expand into ASEAN.”
The new branch will provide domestic and cross-border financial services, including cash management, foreign exchange hedging, term loans, and project and supply-chain financing, and foreign direct investment advisory services, UOB said.
The Zhongshan branch will be the bank’s seventh outlet in the GBA, UOB said.
