East Asia, UniCredito sign deal

East Asia, UniCredito sign deal

HONG KONG: Hong Kong-based Bank of East Asia and Italian banking giant UniCredito Italiano (UnitCredit) said on Friday they will jointly explore business opportunities in China.

Both banks signed a cooperation agreement detailing their respective role in possible ventures in the Chinese mainland.

The banks said in a statement the cooperation will allow UniCredito to tap the Bank of East Asia's network into the mainland.

The Bank of East Asia offers a comprehensive range of services in its 19 branches and offices in China.

The bank in turn will get help from UniCredito in servicing its customers in Italy.

UniCredito Italiano is currently the largest banking group in terms of capitalization in Italy, and second biggest in terms of assets, which totaled 229 billion euro (US$271 billion) as of June 30. It has 3,248 branches in Italy.--AFP