REGIONAL> Development
Bucking the trend, Mizuho Corporate Bank establishes Wuhan branch
By Zhoulihua Weiqi and Zenglingli (China Daily Hubei Bureau)
Updated: 2009-04-03 10:33

Showing little fallout from the financial crisis, the Wuhan Branch of Mizuho Corporate Bank, one of the world's top 500 banks, created the first business establishment by a Japanese-invested bank in the mainland on March 30, making it the fourth foreign-invested bank inWuhan.

After Mizuho Corporate Bank (China) Ltd's Wuhan Branch received permission and began preparation, the financial crisis unexpectedly occurred. Despite the crisis, the bank went ahead with business as scheduled at its Wuhan Branch. "Japanis no exception to the financial crisis," Ohashi Keizo, chairman of Mizuho Corporate Bank, said at the new branch's opening ceremony. "As a Japanese bank, what is our emphasis? I think it still lies inChinain Asia, because, despite the financial crisis,Chinastill has a tremendous market."

Mizuho Corporate Bank isJapan's second largest bank, with headquarters in Shanghaiand many branches inBeijing,Shanghaiand coastal development districts like Guangzhou. The Wuhan Branch is its tenth branch. "With increasing Japanese- invested enterprises in the western central district and rising investment from the Chinese government, the western central economic circle based in Wuhan, the main city linking the central and western circles, is becoming another new economic growth pot following the Yangtze River Delta region, Pearl River Delta region and Bo Hai Coastal Region," Miyaguchi Takehito, president of Mizuho Corporate Bank (China), explained.

It is recorded that Mizuho Corporate Bank (China) Ltd's Wuhan Branch is permitted to engage in RMB business aimed at Japanese enterprises. Seeking Chinese enterprises' overseas investment and reformation is also one of its major missions. At present, there are over 120 Japanese enterprises doing business such as Nissan, Honda,Hitachiand Toshiba.

According to Hubei Province Banking Regulatory Commission, Wuhan has five foreign-invested banks and four commercial institutions, which are Wuhan branches of the French Xing Ye Banking corporations (set in 1997): Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (China), East Asia Banking (China) (set in 2007), Mizuho Corporate Bank (China) and ABN Amro Bank. As a result, a competitive pattern among Hong Kong, French and Japanese banking has emerged inWuhan.

At the opening ceremony, someWuhanofficers pointed out that Mizuho Corporate Bank (China) Ltd's Wuhan Branch's business ranges between Hubei,Jiangxi,Sichuanand Chongqing, "Thus, the city ofWuhancan realize financial circulation and centralization, which conforms to the region's financial center."

In order to construct a central financial center, initiating the financial center construction was explicitly proposed in the plan. At present Wuhan is pursuing two primary tasks. One is to construct a 2.8 km financial circle in the most prosperous site onHankou Jianshe Road. The other is to enhance construction of the financial circle onZhongnan Road, the Wuchang financial headquarter.

The pace of the Wuhancity circle financial cooperation has also sped up: the urban area is setting up a large quantity payment system and a city electronic settlement system. After these systems are established,Wuhan and eight other cities will realize "the same city" settlement exchange in the form of clearance. Looking at the past 20 years,Wuhanhas been an extremely important constituent in the domestic financial domain. The city not only created a new financial product but also bred many beneficial financial mechanisms. Some experts state, "Whether it's the city's geographical position or financial channel construction, Wuhan's construction of a central financial center in order to break new ground is by no means chimerical."