Noting that the bank first applied to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) in January for a Turkish banking license, Şimşek said the BDDK decided to give the permission in its meeting on May 2.
Şimsek said BOC is the seventh largest lender of the world and China’s third largest by capital size and its application to enter the Turkish market has showed the ongoing foreign interest in the country.
He noted that the headquarters of the lender will be in Istanbul, and the BDDK has expected it to start its operations in the next nine months.
Şimşek said the lender would help attract Chinese investments into Turkey and raise financing opportunities for the private sector.
With the BOC entering the Turkish market, the number of Chinese lenders in Turkey will increase to two, as ICBC acquired a majority stake in Turkey’s Tekstilbank, he added.
The BDDK said early April that the lender had completed its application to receive the license in Turkey after submitting the required documents.
