Editor’s note: This article was first published in January 2011. This news covers ICBC opening its Madrid branch, its European expansion plans and China’s purchases of Spanish debt. ICBC’s position as the world’s number one bank by market capitalization refers to that time.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s number one banking giant by market capitalization, has just opened a branch in Madrid. Chinese banks are beginning to expand: ICBC already has branches in Paris, Brussels and Milan, and it hopes to double its presence across Europe.
This is good news, because with foreign banks coming in, there’s a chance that the tap of credit and mortgage lending could be turned back on.
China is investing in Spain. A large purchase of Spanish debt by this giant was announced recently, and this very morning China promised to step up its purchases of government bonds. It’s also showing interest in some companies, which could end up being run by Chinese executives; with their way of working and their discipline, they might achieve results that haven’t been achieved so far.
The problem some of us see in this kind of news is whether, in time, China will create jobs for Spaniards or bring in too high a share of workers from Asia.
Still, for now we could say that its investments are helping the country get out of the recession it’s going through. Should we be grateful, or should we be worried about the future?
Featured image: Boubloub, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
