OCBC extends Bank of Ningbo partnership with new 10-year agreement

[SINGAPORE] OCBC has signed a new 10-year partnership with Bank of Ningbo to further capture growing business, trade, wealth and investment opportunities in Asean and Greater China.

The move will strengthen synergies between both organisations as the growth trajectory presented by the Asean-Greater China corridor remains strong, OCBC said on Thursday (Sep 17).

Under the partnership, the two banks will continue to collaborate on key business areas in wholesale banking and wealth management.

Under the agreement, OCBC will also add a US$5 million training grant for talent development.

First established in the 2006 agreement, the grant supports staff training, knowledge-sharing initiatives, staff secondment and leadership exchange programmes with Bank of Ningbo; it has benefited more than 1,000 employees from the two banks.

The new agreement builds on the first 10-year strategic cooperation agreement which OCBC signed with the Chinese bank in 2017.

OCBC owns a 20 per cent stake in Bank of Ningbo, the maximum permitted shareholding that a foreign bank can have in a Chinese bank.

The Singapore bank first invested in Ningbo Commercial Bank in 2006, acquiring a 12.2 per cent stake before it was renamed Bank of Ningbo in 2007.

OCBC said its collaboration with Bank of Ningbo has boosted cross-border flows between China and the region, which has translated into strong business growth, especially in the last decade.

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OCBC achieved a record-high 50-per-cent increase in the number of new-to-bank Chinese companies expanding into Asean in 2025, it said.

Bank of Ningbo’s strong corporate, SME and retail franchise gives OCBC access to a growing pool of Chinese customers seeking opportunities beyond China, including Asean, OCBC said.

The Chinese bank recorded a net profit of RMB16.6 billion (US$2.5 billion) for the first half of 2026, up 12 per cent from the year before, and is among the country’s 21 domestic systemically important banks.

OCBC group chief executive Tan Teck Long said: “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.”

Shares of OCBC closed 0.3 per cent higher at S$31.28 on Thursday, after the announcement.