Two foreign bankers designated by the Dutch banking and insurance group ING have joined Bank of Beijing, one of the largest city commercial banks in China.

The two foreigners, Bruno Houdmont and Bashar Samra, will act respectively as vice president and assistant to the president, said sources with the city bank.

Houdmont will take charge of personal banking business and the strategic development of the bank, while Samra will assist in risk management, according to the bank's president Yan Bingzhu.

ING acquired 19.9 percent of the shares of Bank of Beijing, formerly known as Beijing Commercial Bank, on March 25 for 1.78 billion yuan (about 215 million US dollars). The International Finance Corporation (IFC) bought five percent of shares on May 25.

Bank of Beijing is the third city commercial bank in China to sell shares to overseas investors, following Bank of Shanghai and Xi'an Commercial Bank.

Yan said the introduction of overseas shareholders will not just bring abundant capital to the bank, but advanced technologies and management know-how as well which will help enhance its presence in Beijing and across China, and cement ties with its overseas partners.

The total assets of Bank of Beijing at the end of 2004 were 209 billion yuan (about 25.7 billion US dollars).

Source: Xinhua