SINGAPORE — OCBC has signed a new 10-year strategic cooperation agreement with China’s Bank of Ningbo, extending one of the longest foreign–Chinese bank partnerships in the region, according to an OCBC announcement dated 17 September 2026.
The deal builds on collaboration that began in 2006, when OCBC first invested in what became Bank of Ningbo. The Singapore bank later raised its stake to the maximum permitted 20% in 2014 and last locked a decade-long cooperation pact in 2017. This renewal keeps the focus on business, trade, wealth, and investment opportunities across ASEAN and Greater China.
OCBC said the corridor is already delivering: in 2025 it recorded a 50% jump in new-to-bank Chinese companies expanding into ASEAN — a record for the franchise — as China–ASEAN bilateral trade topped US$1 trillion for the first time. Talent stays part of the package: OCBC will continue a US$5 million training grant first set in 2006, with more than 1,000 employees across both banks already benefiting from secondments and exchanges.
Bank of Ningbo, among China’s 21 domestic systemically important banks, was the largest city commercial bank by market capitalisation as at 11 September 2026. It posted first-half 2026 net profit of RMB16.6 billion, up 12% year on year.
OCBC Group CEO Tan Teck Long called the renewal a bet on the corridor’s next decade: “Further renewing our partnership for 10 years reflects the deep trust between both organisations and the shared conviction in the growth trajectory of the ASEAN-Greater China corridor.”
Bottom line: This is not a brand-new China entry — it is a 20-year franchise doubling down. For ASEAN corporates and wealth clients, watch how the renewed pact converts China outbound demand into actual cross-border deals, not just another MOU cycle.
WWC NEWSDESK
