Bank of China will soon have branches in India. The bank is expecting to receive security clearances from the Reserve Bank of India in this regard. This is part of several decisions taken at the recent meeting between Chinese president Xi Jinping and prime minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the SCO summit. Bank of China, which is the third largest bank in China and has a market capitalization of $158.6 billion, will be the second Chinese bank to secure a license to open a branch in India. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) already runs one branch in Mumbai. The bank is expected to set up a branch in Mumbai as much of China’s trade is routed through this city. The bank had applied for security clearance in July 2016. Initially, the home ministry had supported the move, merely stating that it had no objections to the proposal as long as it cleared regulatory requirements. However, the minister later opposed the clearance based on questions raised over its ownership.
