On December 29, ICBC set up the first wholly-owned village bank in the Western Region of China – Chonqqing Bishan ICBC Village Bank, another village bank to increase ICBC participation in forming new type of rural financial institutions after the successful opening of the Zhejiang Pinghu ICBC Village Bank. 

Chonqqing Bishan ICBC Village Bank is funded all by ICBC with a registered capital of RMB100 million, the biggest capital injection among village banks in Western China. Around 460000 farmers live in Bishan county. Out of the Bishan's gross output value of RMB 2 billion from agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, almost RMB 1 billion are derived from 4 main sectors - fruit, vegetable, poultry and rabbit, flower and gardening. Bishan County is home to nearly 3000 small agricultural enterprises producing an overall economic output of almost RMB 10 billion. The new Chonqqing Bishan ICBC Village Bank is well-positioned to capitalize the opportunity to cater to the pent-up demand for financial services among the farmers because of the booming economy linking "Agriculture, Rural Areas and Farmers" there.

Speaking at the Grand Opening Ceremony, ICBC Vice President Yi Huiman stressed that always on the top of the ICBC agenda is to offer top quality and high-efficiency financial services to all customers, including those living in rural areas. The bank will adopt a unified approach to support the urban-rural development and the creation of a harmonious society among the villages. ICBC, playing its high role as a large commercial bank, takes the initiative to build a talent pool and offer back office technology, service support to village banks. The aim is to create a strong and unique brand of "ICBC Village Bank" and seek sustainable development by the flawless services and execution to win the business.

Fan Mingwen, the Secretary of Chongqing Bishan County Party Committee, warmly welcomed the village bank of ICBC in the county. The Chonqqing Bishan ICBC Village Bank, according to Mr. Fan, will help to address problems of the local banking landscape, too few financial institutions, not many services and not much competition. The bank is a new member to the Bishan's rural financial system in improving the service standard, insuring financial services are to the advantage of "Agriculture, Rural Areas and Farmers", helping the development of integrated urban-rural economy and finance.     

In her statement to the reporters, Chairman of the Board of Chongqing Bishan ICBC Village Bank Ms. Zheng Li stated that the goal is to be a boutique village bank that is No. 1 in the Western China, ahead all others in the country. To achieve this purpose, a two-pronged strategy of "Supple the Villages, Invigorate the urban-rural" has been crafted to make the village bank a player in both segments.  "Supple the Villages" means to re-ignite the local scene by nurturing a batch of vivacious agro industries with good prospect of moving ahead under sustainable development. "Invigorate the urban-rural" implies the renaissance loom of the rural economy under the reform of Chongqing City in the urban-rural infrastructure. Bishan ICBC Village Bank will work on two strands. First, increase innovation capabilities to offer financial products and services that match the needs of farmers and micro enterprises. The other strand is diversification. To satisfy different requirements of financial services in a village, Bishan ICBC Village Bank will learn from the parent bank on the new products, services and technology and explore the market in intermediary services. Just on the first day of business, Bishan ICBC Village Bank entered cooperation agreements with 10 small-and-medium enterprises there.

ICBC, while focusing on the operation of village bank, also attaches high importance in the wide coverage of ICBC outlets in Bishan area where every outlet is within reach of every customer. Up to end of October of 2009, ICBC has set up 4717 subsidiaries in 1512 county administration zones in the country, or 75.22% of all the county areas. In the next step, ICBC will continue working on a new model in offering even better financial services to support "Agriculture, Rural Areas and Farmers" in light of the new conditions, new changes.