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