KBank, 19 Chinese banks to create biggest Sino-Thai factoring network

BANGKOK, October 30 (TNA) - Bangkok-based Kasikornbank (KBank) has signed agreements with 19 Chinese banks to form the biggest factoring network between Thailand and China, worth about 29 billion baht. KBank chief executive officer (CEO) Banthoon Lamsam told journalists in Bangkok on Monday that six of the 19 allied Chinese banks are the members of the Factors Chain International (FCI), including China Mingsheng Bank, Ping An Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Bank of Shanghai. Banthoon acknowledged that KBank and the allied Chinese banks have agreed with mutual loan purchases and collection to facilitate businesses between Thailand and China, and that the cooperation also covers lending for businesses and the management of risks in international trade. According to the KBank CEO, the Thai-Sino cooperation will expand a market share in transactions concerning international trade and will improve KBank's services for international transactions and money transfers. The KBank CEO pointed out as well that economic cooperation among Asian nations, especially among member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), along with China, South Korea and Japan, will strengthen the overall Asian economy. The leading Thai banking executive said that China is Thailand's most important importing market and the Kingdom's second most important trading partner, as the value of bilateral Sino-Thai trade reached 1.5 trillion baht last year. (TNA)