The Bank of China (BOC) has been approved by the local government to set up a branch in Bahrain, the BOC's first in the Middle East region, said sources with the BOC.

The approval for the BOC branch comes as China marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Bahrain, reported the China News Service on Sunday.

The application was submitted to the Bahrain authority on March29.

So far, the bank has 550 overseas branches, covering 27 countries and regions.

Source: Xinhua