KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) — China Construction Bank (CCB) opened its first branch at the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (LIBFC) in Malaysia’s Northern Borneo state of Sabah on Friday.
In a ceremony, Tan Kok Wai, Malaysian government’s special envoy to China, CCB Executive Vice President Ji Zhihong and Director General of the Labuan Financial Services Authority Danial Mah Abdullah were among more than 1,000 guests.
Tan said Labuan, facing the South China Sea, is an ideal location where funds could flow for infrastructure projects and to bolster its position as a financial hub and boost the bilateral financial cooperation.
In his speech, Ji pointed out that Malaysia supports the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the strong bilateral ties having facilitated successful cross-border developments in various sectors.
“CCB has established its Malaysian subsidiary in 2016, China Construction Bank (Malaysia) Berhad and is honored to be granted the approval to set up a branch in LIBFC and with this, CCB is the only Chinese enterprise that has established two first-tier institutions in Malaysia. In addition, the China Construction Bank Corporation Labuan Branch has also been awarded with its first digital banking and RMB clearing bank license,” said the Chinese banker.
“All these achievements reflect the level of trust and confidence that the Malaysian government and the regulatory authorities have for CCB,” he said.
Danial said the opening of the CCB branch in Labuan is a proof for the LIBFC reputation as a preferred choice for top global players.
