The chairman of Bank of China (3988.HK, 601988.SH) said the lender wants to grow aggressively overseas but doesn’t plan on making any acquisitions, the Wall Street Journal reported. Xiao Gang told reporters Thursday that BoC’s “overseas expansion plans will rely on [its] own strengths,” noting that international business has already increased after foreign banks were crippled by the global financial crisis. He didn’t name any of BoC’s new foreign clients, but said they included some Fortune 500 firms. On the domestic front, lending boomed last year, reaching US$1.42 billion, and the government has set a target of US$1 billion in new loans for 2010. Many banks have announced plans to raise fresh capital in order to meet regulatory requirements. BoC said in January it would sell new shares equal to as much as 20% of its existing Hong Kong- and Shanghai-listed shares. Xiao added that the bank hopes to sell new shares in Hong Kong as soon as possible, but shareholder and regulatory approval is still pending.
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