At the Zhujiaqiao Port Area in Wuhu Port, Anhui, roll-on/roll-off cargo ships laden with new energy vehicles are departing for overseas markets. The blaring horns, the ships' mottled rust marks interwoven with fresh coats of paint, resemble an open logbook recording the stories of Chinese goods venturing abroad.
In 2024, Anhui Province produced over 3.5 million vehicles, with exports reaching 950,000 units. These impressive figures owe much to financial support. CIB Hefei Branch has deepened cooperation with local new energy vehicle manufacturers and provided credit support to overseas subsidiaries of multinational corporations. That same year, the branch offered cross-border settlement and other services to more than 20 automakers and auto parts manufacturers, handling over $500 million in cross-border receipts and payments. To address vehicle manufacturers’ overseas transportation needs, the branch also organized international syndicated loans to provide financing for shipbuilders, supporting vehicle manufacturers’ global expansion in multiple dimensions.
Foreign trade is an important component of the national economy. Promoting stable scale and optimized structure in foreign trade plays a crucial role in sustaining growth and employment. This year's Government Work Report called for expanding high-level opening-up and actively stabilizing foreign trade and investment. As a national joint-stock commercial bank headquartered in the core area of the Maritime Silk Road, CIB has built an integrated international business service system covering domestic and overseas, online and offline, local and foreign currencies, onshore and offshore, as well as commercial and investment banking, driving the high-quality development of foreign trade through innovative financial services.
Building Cross-Border Financial System to Escort Enterprises’ Going Global with Ease
“Now we can secure financing simply by using our export insurance policy. In the past, we had to make multiple trips to the bank, wasting a lot of time. Today, we can have everything done online, and can even enjoy preferential interest rates. It's incredibly convenient!” said a representative from Shandong Native Produce Furniture Co., Ltd.
The company specializes in furniture manufacturing, primarily exporting to Japan, Australia, Singapore, and other countries, with an annual export volume exceeding $2 million. Given its high demand for efficient capital turnover, CIB partnered with China Electronic Port Data Center and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation to launch “Cross-Border Financing for SMEs—Xinbao Loan.” By leveraging big data modeling to create customer profiles, the bank enables fully digitalized financing, meeting enterprises’ needs for “short-term, urgent, fast, and frequent” funding.
For cross-border projects involving large investments, long operational cycles, and high maintenance costs, professional cross-border financial services are indispensable. When Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. exported heavy machinery to Turkey, it required a foreign guarantee with the overseas subsidiary of a multinational group as the beneficiary, featuring Turkish-language documentation and local currency settlement. CIB collaborated with a Turkish bank to issue a segregated quality guarantee, efficiently addressing exchange rate risks for minor currencies and ensuring the smooth execution of the overseas project.
Beyond financing, large multinational corporations demand sophisticated global treasury management. Leveraging its fintech expertise, CIB introduced a shared direct-connect global cash management service, empowering enterprises to monitor worldwide account balances, streamline cross-border payments, and achieve real-time visibility and intelligent centralized payments, significantly enhancing financial management efficiency.
As a new frontier in foreign trade, cross-border e-commerce is driving global trade toward digitization and efficiency. To help these businesses gain a competitive edge in the international market, CIB developed the Cross-Border E-Commerce Comprehensive Service Solution, offering end-to-end electronic processing for account opening, cross-border collections, and currency settlement. Additionally, the bank integrated a “Sunshine Cross-Border” module into its Industrial Steward (EasyTrade), providing guidance on forex policies, tax regulations, and customs clearance, alongside integrated services like online order collection, ledger management, and self-service reporting, fostering a high-speed, healthy e-commerce ecosystem.
With the Belt and Road Initiative advancing and Chinese enterprises accelerating their global expansion, “expand abroad or risk obsolescence” has become a consensus. CIB continues to refine its one-stop cross-border financial service system, empowering Chinese businesses to navigate international waters confidently. As of Q1 2025, CIB's cross-border RMB settlements exceeded RMB 490 billion, with cross-border financing balances surpassing RMB 210 billion, serving over 26,000 international clients.
Deepening Capital Market Services to Expand Global Footprint
The global expansion of enterprises cannot be achieved without the support of the capital market. CIB leverages its strengths in “commercial banking + investment banking” and adheres to the philosophy of “investing early, investing small, and investing in hard-tech” to help enterprises access the capital market and expand into international markets.
SOFAR is a benchmark enterprise in the global photovoltaic and energy storage solutions sector. Its core products, such as grid-tied inverters and energy storage batteries, have penetrated major markets including Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, the Middle East, and Africa.
As early as 2019, CIB's Shenzhen branch granted SOFAR a credit line of RMB 15 million to support its business development. In 2021, CIB's subsidiary, CIIT Asset Management, invested RMB 10 million in SOFAR to help the company maintain its technological edge and expand into overseas markets. With the dual support of CIB's “commercial banking + investment banking,” SOFAR successfully listed on the Shenzhen Stock ExChange's ChiNext board on April 2, 2025, marking a new milestone in its development.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are a crucial means for enterprises to rapidly expand, enhance competitiveness, and achieve strategic goals. CIB leverages its leading advantages in the M&A market to help high-quality enterprises grow stronger, boost their international competitiveness, and increase their global market share.
As a steadfast explorer and enabler of digital technology, New H3C Technologies Co., Ltd. continues to deepen its innovation and application of AI technology, providing faster and more powerful computing support for industrial transformation. CIB collaborated with peers to form an M&A syndicate, acting as the sole agent bank, to assist the Tsinghua Unigroup and Unisplendour Corporation in completing the equity acquisition of H3C. Post-acquisition, Unisplendour Corporation can leverage H3C's overseas presence to accelerate the globalization of products such as switches and routers, effectively participate in international competition, and expand into overseas markets.
“In cross-border M&A business, our bank will continue to promote cooperation with leading institutions, building a broader and tighter M&A network to help domestic enterprises expand their industrial footprint and achieve leapfrog development,” said an executive from CIB.
In addition, in recent years, CIB has continued to strengthen its Investment Banking credentials, particularly in overseas bond business, creating an integrated efficient operational model for investment, underwriting, sales, and custody. The bank has innovatively launched value-added services such as rating advisory and green advisory, establishing a strong “bank + securities” alliance to enhance project competitiveness. To date, the bank has underwritten more than 1,200 overseas bond projects, serving 700 clients.
Reducing Transaction Costs to Eliminate Enterprises’ Concerns
Businesses expanding overseas and developing foreign trade involve the allocation of domestic and international resources including personnel, finance, and materials, which invisibly increases the transaction costs of production factors. To reduce cross-border settlement and exchange rate risks for enterprises, CIB leverages its professional advantages to provide comprehensive support for foreign trade companies.
In the past, many shipping companies faced significant financial costs, as fees were charged for fund transfers and crew salary disbursements through their accounts. CIB introduced a bundled solution featuring cross-border settlements, cross-border salary disbursements, and one-click currency exchange, enabling companies to handle employee payroll and foreign currency settlements without leaving their offices. Additionally, the bank pioneered a foreign exchange facilitation service for cross-border salary scenarios, offering integrated solutions to clients in industries such as shipping, mining and metallurgy, energy and chemicals, and automotive machinery. By the end of 2024, CIB's cross-border salary services had disbursed RMB 357 million in wages for over 2,700 employees across 32 companies, marking a 543% increase from the end of 2023.
In foreign trade activities, exchange rate risks create numerous uncertainties for business transactions. To mitigate the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on businesses, CIB established a “foreign exchange expert” team as early as 2014, strengthening its cross-border FICC product system to effectively reduce exchange rate risks for both large enterprises and SMEs.
Xinjiang Jiangguo Dashu Food Co., Ltd., a dried fruit enterprise with annual exports of nearly $2 million, faced dual pressures of short-term liquidity and exchange rate hedging. CIB customized a “cross-border financing for SMEs + forward settlement” package, guiding the company to submit applications, obtain approval, and successfully withdraw funds through an online platform, resolving its short-term funding needs while helping it achieve zero-cost exchange rate locking to eliminate future concerns.
To date, the bank has facilitated over RMB 4.45 trillion in client transactions for exchange rate hedging, serving more than 25,000 clients across industries such as new economy, shipping, new energy, photovoltaics, and automotive machinery.
From roll-on/roll-off cargo ships at Anhui ports to engineering projects in Turkey; from comprehensive cross-border e-commerce solutions to capital operations for M&A syndicates, CIB is injecting robust momentum into the high-quality development of China's foreign trade through diversified financial services.