Not only did Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s ground-breaking listing – the biggest worldwide – confirm the bank’s leadership in its own country, it also catapulted it at the helm of the group of emerging market’s banks that have the strength and vision to reach the world’s biggest players.
ICBC’s dual IPO raised a phenomenal $16.1bn in Hong Kong and an additional $5.1bn in Shanghai, and was the first simultaneous listing on the two markets.
Big players need state-of-the-art technology and rigorous risk control. ICBC impressed the judges with its development of IT systems, the increased sophistication of risk management and internal control systems and the efficient reorganisation of the bank’s branch network, which pervades China with its 19,000 outlets.
“The innovative, stable and experienced management team of ICBC has averaged more than 25 years’ working experience in China’s banking industry and accordingly acquired real awareness of the changing and transforming process of China’s financial industry,” says chairman Jiang Jianqing.
“It is this team that led ICBC to execute its fruitful change and transformation, including making heavy investments in the construction of ICBC’s IT system in an early stage, paying more attention to the establishment of ICBC’s risk management and internal control system also at a very early stage, and reorganising and optimising ICBC’s branch network and business transaction process, as well as enforcing the restructuring reform of ICBC.
“It is also this team that not only created a very clear development strategy but also put it into practice as well.”
