Yang Kaisheng, president of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, is speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Sunday, March 7, 2010. [CRI]

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the world's largest bank by market value, says it will be active and prudent with overseas expansion this year.

Yang Kaisheng, president of ICBC, told a press conference in Beijing that the bank has more than 160 overseas branches in over 20 countries and regions. And all of them are in the black. He also outlined the strategy for overseas expansion this year.

"While targeting both emerging and developed markets, we will put the emerging market first. We will expand overseas business by setting up new branches as well as mergers and acquisitions. Of course, for mergers and acquisitions, they will be carried out at reasonable prices, with well-selected targets, at proper times and in appropriate places."

Meanwhile, Yang Kaisheng said the bank's total deposits were nearly 10.2 trillion yuan or 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of last year, and its total outstanding loans stood at about 5.1 trillion yuan.

ICBC is expected to publish its annual report for 2009 at the end of this month.