Bank of China was formally established in February 1912 following approval the approval of Dr.Sun Yat-sen. From 1912 to 1949, the Bank served consecutively as the country’s central bank, international exchange bank and specialist international trade bank. Fulfilling its commitment to serving the public and developing China’s financial services sector, the Bank rose to a leading position in the Chinese financial industry and developed a good standing in the international financial community, despite many hardships and setbacks.



After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, with a long history as the state-designated specialist foreign exchange and trade bank, the Bank became responsible for managing China’s foreign exchange operations and provided tremendous support to nation’s foreign trade development and economic infrastructure through its offering of international trade settlement, overseas fund transfer and other non-trade foreign exchange services. During the China’s reform and opening up period, the Bank seized the historic opportunity presented by the government’s strategy of capitalising on foreign funds, advanced knowledge and equipments to boost economic development, and accomplished as the country’s key foreign financing channel by building up its competitive advantages in foreign exchange business.

In 1994, the Bank transformed from a specialist foreign exchange bank into a state-owned commercial bank,  and then incorporated as Bank of China Limited in August 2004. The Bank was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (“SSE”) in June and July 2006 respectively, becoming the first Chinese commercial bank to launch an A-Share and H-Share initial public offering and achieve a dual listing in both markets.

In 2011, the Bank, as the only bank from China as well as emerging economies, was enrolled as a Global Systemically Important Financial Institution.