On March 23, 2006, China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) and Liaoning Provincial People’s Government signed the Bank-Government Cooperation Agreement in Shenyang. Zhang Wenyue, governor of Liaoning hosted the signing ceremony to which Guo Shuqing, Chairman of CCB and Li Keqiang, secretary of CPC Liaoning Committee delivered a speech respectively. Zhao Lin, Vice President of CCB, and Lu Xin, deputy governor of Liaoning signed the agreement. According to the document, during the eleventh five-year plan period, CCB will provide Liaoning with RMB100 billion of credit.

Over years, CCB has been an active player in and supporter for Liaoning’s economic development in line with the regional development strategy of the province. During the tenth five-year plan period, the bank invested heavily in the local transportation, power, iron & steel, telecommunications, port and chemical industries, extended full support for the growth of competitive private businesses of Liaoning and established sound cooperative relations with the local government.

The cooperation between CCB and Liaoning provincial government is of great importance to promoting the sustainable growth of the local economy and financial sector. According to the agreement, CCB will follow the national macro economic, industrial, regional development and credit policies to deliver credit support to the key projects and backbone enterprises of Liaoning involved in the industries of energy, transportation, high-tech, raw materials, equipment & manufacturing, education, agricultural infrastructure and public utilities in compliance with the national laws, regulations, credit rules and approval procedures.

During his speech, Guo Shuqing said that located at the Northeast plain and standing at the juncture of the Northeast and the Bohai Rim economic zones, Liaoning province enjoys unique geological advantages and serves as an important industrial and raw materials production base of China. In recent years, the provincial Party Committee and government have been working hard to improve the market economic system, optimize the industrial structure, accelerate reform and opening up and maintain rapid economic growth following the scientific concept of development and as a result remarkable achievements have been achieved in various social undertakings. In the eleventh five-year plan period, the central government requires the Northeast region accelerate the industrial restructuring and reform, reorganization and transformation of state-owned enterprises (SOE), develop modern agriculture, focus on revitalizing the equipment & manufacturing industry, promote the economic transmission of resource depletion cities and realize rejuvenation in the process of reform and opening up, which crates great opportunities for the development of Liaoning.

CCB is a sophisticated modern commercial bank. Its successful IPO in Hong Kong on October 27, 2005 makes the bank a public company with investors from all over the world. With a history of over 50 years CCB has developed unique advantages of commercial banking services and holds a leading position among Chinese banks especially in the sectors of basic construction credit, project cost consulting, project financing, housing mortgage loan and bank card. It enjoys a broad customer base composed of governments, enterprises and individual residents.

CCB will follow the strategic vision of “being a leading international commercial bank providing customers with the best services, creating maximum value for its shareholders and offering the best development opportunities to its employees” and make best use of its advantages to provide quality and efficient financial services for Liaoning’s economic progress.

Li Keqiang pointed out that as one of the oldest industrial bases of China Liaoning has made historic contributions to the socialist modernization construction and reform and opening of the country. During the eleventh five-year plan period, the rapid development of Liaoning calls for full support from the financial industry, which not only raises new requirements but also creates potential market opportunities for the financial sector. CCB is the first state-owned commercial bank finishing the shareholding transformation and last year went public in Hong Kong successfully. Its operational, management and technological expertise are making it into a leading international commercial bank. He extended sincere wishes for the fruitful cooperation results between Liaoning and CCB and another takeoff of CCB during the all-round rejuvenation of this old industrial base.

Xia Deren, Standing Committee Member of CPC Liaoning Committee and Mayor of Dalian, Zeng Wei, Standing Committee Member and secretary general of CPC Liaoning Committee and Zhu Zhenmin and Liu Xianghui, directors of CCB were present at the signing ceremony.