Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the nation's largest lender by assets, opened a wholly-funded financial leasing firm in the northern city of Tianjin on Wednesday.

Analysts said the move would help ICBC diversify and get a share of the nation's rapidly growing financial leasing business.

The firm has registered capital of 2 billion yuan (270.6 million U.S. dollars) and is located in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, a locality known for financial innovation in China.

Yang Kaisheng, president of ICBC, said that the establishment of the leasing company was a major development in ICBC'S diversification.

The firm will mainly lease ships, aircraft and large equipment.

It will also provide asset management and industry investment counseling for domestic and overseas customers, Yang added.

ICBC is already China's largest source of aircraft financing and one of the largest ship financing banks.

During the opening ceremony, ICBC signed cooperation deals with the China National Aviation Holding Company, Hainan Airlines, and the China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company.

The China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, China Merchants Bank, and China Minsheng Banking Corp have also won regulatory approval to open financial leasing firms.

In March, the China Banking Regulatory Commission lifted a decade-old ban on commercial banks investing in financial leasing companies.

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2007)