【英语财经】中国银行获准开设文莱分行 Bank of China’s Brunei move heralds Asia push

Bank of China has been granted approval to open a branch in Brunei — the first time that a Chinese financial institution has established a presence in the oil-rich sultanate, and a further step towards Beijing’s aim of expanding its influence in Southeast Asia.

News of the bank deal follows a steady flow of Chinese investment into Brunei, including a $6bn project to construct an oil refinery and petrochemical production facility.

In a statement, Bank of China linked the decision to China’s “One Belt, One Road” strategy to build infrastructure and enhance trade along traditional routes across Eurasia and around Southeast Asia. It said Brunei is “one of the important countries along the Belt and Road route, [which] is politically stable and strategically located with well-developed infrastructure”.

Bank of China’s initiative also comes at a time when western banks have been pruning their Asian networks. Earlier this month, HSBC announced it would wind down operations in Brunei, which comprise retail, commercial and global banking services, in line with a greater focus on countries at the centre of global trade. Citi exited Brunei two years ago.

For many of the banks, the closures came after a long history of operating in the sultanate, which was formerly a British protectorate. HSBC opened in Brunei in 1947, while Citi’s presence there dated to 1972.

While these western banks’ decisions were made on a commercial basis, some expatriate workers in the Southeast Asian country have also expressed concern about doing business in the sultanate after it adopted Islamic criminal law — including penalties such as amputation and stoning.

However, Mustafa Izzuddin, a political scientist at the ISEAS — Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, noted that China had been expanding its commercial ties with Brunei, which it regards as a useful source of oil and gas.

Mr Izzuddin said: “China also sees Brunei as an important country on Asean matters, particularly when it comes to moulding the image of China in the Southeast Asian region.”

Bank of China, which has the largest international presence of the big four state-owned banks from its home country, said opening in Brunei was part of a move to extend its network coverage to all 10 Asean countries.

中国银行(BoC)已获准在文莱开设一家分行。这是中国金融机构首次在这个拥有丰富石油资源的苏丹国建立业务，也是朝着实现北京方面扩大在东南亚影响力的目标迈出的又一步。

在这笔银行协议的新闻发布前，中国已在文莱进行持续投资，包括建设一家炼油厂和石化生产设施的60亿美元项目。

在声明中，中国银行将这一决定与“一带一路”(One Belt, One Road)战略联系起来。该行在声明中表示，“文莱位于‘一带一路’沿线，具有政治稳定、地理优越及基础设施完善等优势”。“一带一路”是中国计划沿着横跨欧亚大陆和环东南亚地区的传统路线建设基础设施并加强贸易的战略。

中国银行的这一行动，也正值西方银行精简它们在亚洲的分支网络之际。本月早些时候，汇丰(HSBC)宣布将逐步缩减其在文莱的业务，包括零售银行、商业银行和全球银行服务。此举符合该行将更多重心放在处于全球贸易中心的国家的战略。花旗(Citi)在两年前就退出了文莱。

对于其中很多西方银行而言，在关闭这些分支前，它们已在这个曾为英国保护国的苏丹国经营了很长一段时间。汇丰自1947年起在文莱开展业务，而花旗在文莱的分行可以追溯到1972年。

这些西方银行的决定是基于商业考虑做出的，而一些在文莱工作的外籍人员在该国实行伊斯兰刑法后表达了他们对在这个苏丹国开展业务的忧虑——该国刑法包括截肢和用石头砸死等刑罚。

然而，新加坡尤索夫伊萨东南亚研究院(ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute)的政治学家穆斯塔法?伊兹丁(Mustafa Izzuddin)指出，中国一直在发展其与文莱的商业关系，视其为石油和天然气的有用来源。

伊兹丁表示：“中国还将文莱视为东盟(Asean)事务方面的重要国家，尤其是涉及塑造中国在东南亚地区形象方面。”

中国四大行中国际业务规模最大的中国银行表示，在文莱开设分行是实现其在东盟十国机构全覆盖的行动的一部分。

译者/石斛