Matrix Report
According to Chinese news agency Xinhua, the Bank of China (BOC) has approved more than $140 billion of credit and funded over 600 major projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by the end of June, according to Bank of China (BOC) semi-annual report released Friday.
According to the report, the bank, with its BRI funding and other investments, has seen steady growth in its business performance and continuous improvement in its brand value in the first half of this year. Bank of China’s president also said that as of the end of June, the bank’s revenue came in at 276.7 billion yuan (about $39 billion), up 10.02 percent year on year, while after-tax profits expanded 5.08 percent to 121.4 billion yuan.
On the other hand, BOC officials also report that over the past few years, the BOC has continuously invested in economies connected with the Belt and Road initiative. It has established overseas institutions in 24 countries and regions associated with the initiative. Since 2015, the BOC has also issued BRI themed bonds five times in seven currencies, with a total value of $14.6 billion.
The BRI was announced as a flagship project by the Chinese President Xi Jinping six years ago. Since the announcement, China has signed 173 agreements with 125 countries, including developed and developing countries, and 29 international organizations, as reported by Russia’s RT News.
