Chinese banks have reasons to be optimistic about venturing abroad.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC), the world’s largest commercial lender by assets, reported that the pretax profit for its overseas institutions rose 19% to $4.4 billion last year, according to Zhang Weiwu, a senior executive vice president. The profit growth came as their total assets grew 4% to more than $430 billion at the end of last year.