On Nov 7, 2010, during the official state visit of the President Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China, ICBC and Banco Comercial Portugues SA (Millennium BCP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Full Cooperation between ICBC and Millennium BCP witnessed by the State Leaders of the two countries. The new MOU was signed by ICBC Executive Director and Senior Executive Vice President Wang Lili and the Chairman & CEO Carlos Santos Ferreira of Millennium BCP. The Memorandum of Understanding states that both banks will bolster cooperation in many business segments including cross-border renminbi settlements, trade finance, cash management and international payments, corporate lending, project finance and investment banking.

An executive with ICBC said that in light of the booming China-Portugal economic and trade cooperation, ICBC leverages its own strength, brand influence and overseas presence to strengthen its partnership with the Portuguese banks. ICBC plays an increasing role in fostering economic and trade ties between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. This Memorandum of Understanding signed with a major Portuguese commercial bank marks further headway for ICBC to participate in the strategic cooperation between China and Portugal on economic and trade.

At present, ICBC has set up 29 tier-1 overseas subsidiaries in 27 countries/regions, taking the total to 194. ICBC subsidiaries in Europe are located in London, Frankfurt, Luxembourg. Upcoming subsidiaries in France, Netherland, Italy, Belgian, Spain have been approved by the regulatory bodies of the countries concerned. ICBC Macau, a branch of ICBC, has opened a representative office in Portugal. Besides, ICBC delivers a wide range of financial services and extends its service radius across the world by working with the financial peers through a network of 1435 correspondent banks spreading over 131 countries/regions.

Banco Comercial Portugues SA (Millennium BCP), established in 1985 and headquartered in Lisbon, is the largest listed bank in Portugal with 917 branches. Among the banks in Portugal, Millennium BCP has leading market shares in retail banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, private banking and wealth management services. The bank also operates out of branches in Romania, Poland, Greece, Mozambique, Angola, United States, Turkey, Switzerland and China's Macau.