ICBC accelerates global expansion, seeks new growth through digitalization

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's first-half results showed that international operations of China's largest State-owned commercial lender continued to develop steadily, while its global service capabilities were further strengthened.

At a news conference announcing ICBC's 2026 interim results on Friday, Liu Jun, president of ICBC, said the bank was accelerating its shift away from a traditional, credit-driven growth model and seeking new growth momentum through greater integration, internationalization and digitalization.

ICBC reported operating revenue of 465.86 billion yuan ($69.27 billion) in the first half, up 9.1 percent year-on-year, while its net profit rose 4.54 percent to 176.48 billion yuan.

"If past growth relied more on economies of scale, future development will inevitably require us to reshape the growth equation through deeper reform," Liu said.

He emphasized that banks' internationalization today is increasingly centered on the internationalization of the renminbi, involving both the expansion of renminbi use overseas and a broader global footprint.

From breaking down barriers related to foreign-exchange costs to creating faster and more efficient cross-border settlement services, ICBC is leveraging its capabilities in pricing and trading renminbi assets to provide solid financial support for China's domestic and international economic cycles, he said.

As of the end of June, ICBC had established 398 overseas institutions in 49 countries and regions and had indirectly covered markets in many African countries through its equity stake in Standard Bank, the largest bank in Africa.

ICBC's total overseas assets stood at $511 billion at the end of June, up more than 11 percent year-on-year and 3.94 percent from the end of last year. Overseas operations accounted for about 10 percent of the group's pre-tax profit, with their contribution to the group continuing to increase steadily.

Zhang Weiwu, senior executive vice-president at ICBC, said in the first half, the bank's international settlement volume rose 41 percent year-on-year. As of the end of June, its outstanding loans supporting Chinese companies' overseas expansion rose 9 percent from the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, ICBC continued to strengthen platforms for international cooperation. Zhang said the bank has fulfilled its role as the chair of the BRICS Business Council Chinese Chapter, supporting cooperation among companies from BRICS countries. It also continued to expand and enhance the China-Europe Business Council, which now covers 136 members, including 51 Fortune 500 companies.

Through the Belt and Road Bankers Roundtable, ICBC has supported high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, with the number of member and observer institutions expanding to 216 in 79 countries and regions.

The bank has also continued to expand the use of the renminbi in cross-border business, launching comprehensive cross-border RMB financial solutions focused on areas including new quality productive forces, digital trade and the international expansion of Chinese companies, Zhang said.

In the first half, ICBC's group-wide cross-border RMB settlement volume reached 5.5 trillion yuan, up 9 percent year-on-year.

The bank continued to strengthen its cross-border RMB payment network and enhance clearing infrastructure. After expanding its network of RMB clearing banks to 12 countries, ICBC was authorized in June to jointly serve as RMB clearing banks for Africa, together with Standard Bank. In the first half, the RMB clearing volume handled by overseas RMB clearing banks operated by ICBC increased 16 percent year-on-year.

The bank also continued to strengthen its services to the offshore RMB market. In the first half, the group's offshore RMB foreign exchange market-making and client trading volumes increased 36 percent year-on-year. During the same period, ICBC underwrote 24.7 billion yuan in panda bonds, up 65 percent year-on-year, Zhang said.

"Going forward, we will continue to focus on serving the real economy and supporting China's new development paradigm, strengthen our integrated domestic and overseas operations, and further enhance our capabilities in the global allocation, trading and pricing of renminbi assets, making a greater contribution to China's high-level opening-up," Zhang said.

In China, ICBC continued to deepen its financial support in the five major areas of finance and dynamically optimize its business structure. As of the end of June, the bank's outstanding green loans exceeded 7 trillion yuan and outstanding loans to core industries of the digital economy stood at 1.26 trillion yuan.

Wang Jingwu, senior executive vice-president and chief risk officer at ICBC, said the bank has closely aligned its business with national strategies, optimized the allocation of assets and its credit structure, and steadily advanced asset-quality management.

As of the end of June, ICBC's nonperforming loan ratio stood at 1.29 percent, down 0.02 percentage points from the end of last year, while its provision coverage ratio rose 3.98 percentage points to 217.58 percent, indicating that the bank's risk-resilience capacity remained solid.