THE Hongkong Chinese Bank and the First Union Bank of the United States have formed a joint-venture deposit-taking company that is expected to generate US$1 billion annually in trade transactions over the next five years.
The joint venture, First Union HKCB Asia, will engage in the trade finance business in the US and Asia.
The managing director of Chinese Bank, Chang Te-cheng, said the partnership arrangement would help Hong Kong companies to develop a solid US market.
'This [partnership] should be a significant benefit for our customers which are looking to expand their trade with the US,' Mr Chang said.
First Union's annual trade finance volume is expected to be $4 billion by the end of this year, of which Latin America will account for $1.6 billion.
Mr Chang said Hong Kong companies had a special interest in Latin America because sales had been growing rapidly there.
