April 30, 2008 ─ China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. (SSE: 600036; HKEx: 3968; “China Merchants Bank” or “the Company”) inaugurated its wholly-owned financial leasing subsidiary, CMB Financial Leasing Co., LTD ( “CMB Financial Leasing” ), with a registered capital of RMB 2 billion in Shanghai on April 23, 2008. The move marked CMB’s further development into a comprehensive financial company. CMB Financial Leasing was one of the five financial leasing firms which are affiliated with a bank to be marked out by the State Council for a trial run. It was also the only financial leasing firm in Shanghai which was established by a non-Shanghai-based financial institution.
Mr. Tu Guangshao, a member of the municipal Communist Party Committee and Vice Mayor of Shanghai; Mr Chen Qiong, a Deputy Director of non-banking department of China Banking Regulatory Commission; and Mr Ma Weihua, President of China Merchants Bank delivered speeches respectively at the inauguration of CMB Financial Leasing. The ceremony was also graced with the presence of Mr. Li Yiping, the Deputy Secretary-General of Shanghai City and Deputy Communist Party Secretary and Chief of Pudong District; Mr. Jiang Zhuoqing, the Deputy Secretary-General of Shanghai City; Mr. Yan Qingmin, Chief of
Shanghai Banking Regulatory Bureau; Mr. Zhang Guanghua, Vice President of China Merchants Bank and Chairman of CMB Financial Leasing; and Mr. Zhang Yanling，Director and President of [CMB Financial Leasing].
Mr. Ma Weihua expressed the view that the establishment of CMB Financial Leasing was a China Merchants Bank’s strategic move to develop into a comprehensive financial company, and thus a milestone of the bank’s development. He encouraged the financial leasing firm to take an aggressive and innovative approach as well as to build a strong brand of “China Merchants Bank” in the financial leasing sector. He said the financial leasing firm should contribute to the good development of the financial leasing sector of the country.
CMB Financial Leasing struck strategic cooperation deals with Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (三一重工股份有限公司), Shaanxi Coal Chemical Industry Limited（陕西煤业化工集团有限公司），Yunnan Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower Co., Ltd（云南华能澜沧江水电有限公司）at its inauguration. In addition, it also signed strategic cooperation agreements with four other bank-affiliated financial leasing firms such as ICBC Financial Leasing Co., LTD. (工银金融租赁)、CCB Financial Leasing Corporation (建信金融租赁), BoCom Financial Lease Co., Ltd. (交银金融租赁) and Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd (民生金融租赁) with an aim to strengthen the cooperation and enhance the ability of risk management of the financial leasing companies.
Unlike other financial leasing companies which mainly focus on large enterprises, CMB Financial Leasing will mainly target small and medium-sized companies which are growing well. It will provide specialized products and services which are tailor-made for small and medium-sized businesses during their growth. CMB Financial Leasing will develop itself into a leading player with a strong brand in the niche market of small and medium-sized enterprises.
CMB Financial Leasing will target such sectors as coal mining, power generation, petroleum industry and transportation, which are pillars of the economy. It will also focus on such industries as large equipment and machinery manufacturing, environment protection, urban infrastructure and civil construction. The financial leasing firm will also target such areas as Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Bohai Bay and National High Technology Development Zones where small and medium-sized companies with good track records are more concentrated.
China is improving the financial system, diversifying financial services and products, and enhancing the efficiency of allocating financial resources for economic development. Against this backdrop, financial leasing can help boost investment to stimulate economic growth, and at the same time spur the growth in consumption and export. It can also speed up the technological upgrade of the enterprises, especially that of the small and medium-sized enterprises. This will help optimize the structure of the industries and help enhance the competitive strengths of the pillar industries.