The world’s biggest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, has opened an office in Amsterdam. The bank hopes to do business with Chinese firms and is not aimed so much at high street customers.

The ICBC already has offices in London, Frankfurt and Luxembourg. It has just opened outlets in Brussels, Paris, Milan and Madrid as well as in Amsterdam.

Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager says the ICBC Amsterdam office shows how good Dutch-Chinese relations are. He expects the move will attract more Chinese companies to the Netherlands, boosting the Dutch jobs market. He says the Dutch banking sector is pleased because the ICBC presence emphasises the importance of Amsterdam, the Dutch capital, as a financial centre.

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