China Construction Bank (Asia) – Leveraging the Hong Kong platform to facilitate mainland enterprises “going global”

Based in Hong Kong with a history spanning more than a century, China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Ltd (“China Construction Bank (Asia)” or “CCB (Asia)”) is the flagship subsidiary of China Construction Bank Corporation (“CCB”) with the largest and most comprehensive operation, the most diverse range of products, and a pool of exceptional talents for CCB’s overseas business. With the establishment of its Credit Approval Centre Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong, CCB (Asia) will continue to play a pivotal role working in partnership with other CCB affiliates in Hong Kong in supporting Chinese mainland enterprises’ “going global” as well as participation in the Belt and Road Initiative.

As an international financial hub, Hong Kong is a key strategic link within the Belt and Road Initiative. As most mainland enterprises have chosen to set up their offshore headquarters or fund management platforms in Hong Kong, the Special Administrative Region has become the “going global” bridgehead for mainland enterprises, presenting CCB (Asia) with tremendous opportunities. Hong Kong is one of Asia’s most dynamic markets in syndicated loans, bonds, IPOs, asset management and corporate treasury management. It is also the world’s leading offshore renminbi market with a high degree of connectivity to global markets. To mainland enterprises, Hong Kong possesses a distinctive talent edge by virtue of its biliterate and trilingual financial talent pool armed with global insight and vision, its wealth of professionals in accounting, law and tax, as well as its high level of marketisation in human resources and flexible employment mechanism.

CCB (Asia) has in recent years assembled and cultivated a pool of specialists who, by playing key roles in major overseas financing projects in the past, have been instrumental in driving the development of CCB’s overseas financing business. As CCB’s largest comprehensive banking platform outside of the mainland, CCB (Asia) is a key financing centre for major overseas projects involving mainland enterprises. Its independent Structured Finance Team and Syndication Team are in a position to offer companies a suite of financial services products ranging from international syndication and M&A loans to project financing and asset financing. Its services include deal structuring, project evaluation and advisory services, financial modelling, syndicated loan distribution, loan documentation negotiation, arrangement for signing of legal documents and loan drawdown.

The establishment of the Credit Approval Centre Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong signifies an important milestone in CCB’s internationalisation and will help to elevate the quality and efficiency of the loan approval process. It also underscores Hong Kong’s status as a “super-connector” between the mainland and international practices and standards. With the accumulation of valuable experience through execution of live deals, CCB's Hong Kong Training Centre leverages Hong Kong’s advantage in having a concentration of resources, information and talents to provide CCB staff with the mentorship of experienced professionals and the kind of international exposure vital to understanding offshore business. Furthermore, they will benefit from the synergies between enterprises and the financial services community. These advantages make Hong Kong the ideal location for CCB to provide superior support for Chinese enterprises’ “going global”.