At the end of January, Zhang Xuqing, serving as the Party Committee Secretary and head of CITIC Bank's Xiamen Branch, held a discussion with the government of Huli District in Xiamen. Engaging actively with government and enterprise stakeholders and familiarizing himself with the local Xiamen market is one of Zhang Xuqing's key responsibilities.
Recent disclosures confirm that Zhang Xuqing's qualification to serve as the President of CITIC Bank's Xiamen Branch has received regulatory approval. The market is still relatively unfamiliar with this new leader.
Reviewing Zhang Xuqing's career history, he previously held the position of Deputy General Manager of CITIC Bank's International Business Department, where he was responsible for cross-border finance and the strategic layout of Belt and Road Initiative-related business. In 2023, he officially assumed the role of President of CITIC Bank's Hong Kong Branch, tasked with expanding the bank's presence in the Hong Kong market. It is evident that a significant portion of Zhang Xuqing's professional experience lies in international business, cross-border finance, and the management of overseas institutions.
The decision to appoint Zhang Xuqing to lead the Xiamen Branch is undoubtedly strategic, likely valuing his proven ability to develop new markets. Under his leadership, the asset scale of CITIC Bank's Hong Kong Branch grew from 1.443 billion yuan in mid-2024 to 4.386 billion yuan by mid-2025, representing an increase of 203.95%.
In contrast, CITIC Bank's Xiamen Branch still possesses considerable potential for growth within the group. As of the first half of 2025, the Xiamen Branch operated 18 offices, an increase of one compared to the same period last year. Its employee count reached 468, up by five year-on-year, and its asset scale stood at 38.955 billion yuan, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 5.93%.
Within CITIC Bank's Pearl River Delta and West Taiwan Strait region, the Xiamen Branch's scale is among the smallest, with assets only higher than those of the Haikou Branch. By the first half of 2025, the asset gap between the Xiamen Branch and the Fuzhou Branch was as high as 73.2 billion yuan. Furthermore, the entire Pearl River Delta and West Taiwan Strait region of CITIC Bank still lags behind the Yangtze River Delta and Bohai Rim regions in terms of scale. A key to boosting development in this area is achieving more balanced growth across its various cities. Simply put, the Xiamen Branch must not lag behind.
As of the first half of 2025, CITIC Bank's loan balances were highest in the Yangtze River Delta, Bohai Rim, and Pearl River Delta & West Taiwan Strait regions, amounting to 1,736.075 billion yuan, 1,384.571 billion yuan, and 841.583 billion yuan, respectively. These figures account for 29.92%, 23.86%, and 14.51% of the total. In terms of incremental growth, the Yangtze River Delta saw the largest increase of 88.838 billion yuan, followed by the Pearl River Delta & West Taiwan Strait region, which increased by 29.467 billion yuan.
With Zhang Xuqing's appointment, CITIC Bank's Xiamen Branch is expected to embark on significant initiatives. The branch is actively recruiting new talent. On March 2nd, the latest recruitment notice from CITIC Bank's Xiamen Branch indicated openings for several branch business department managers.
Additionally, the Xiamen Branch had previously initiated a public tender for an outsourcing project related to corporate customer marketing services. However, news on March 5th revealed that the public procurement failed because, by the bid submission deadline, there were fewer than three qualified bidders.
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