The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (London) plc said on Monday it would work on boosting off-shore trading of Chinese currency RMB, also known as yuan, in Europe.

Xu Jinlei, general manager of ICBC London, said ICBC London would work hard to develop itself into a European center of off-shore RMB trading, syndicated loans, trade finance, and capital and precious metal trading, to provide high-quality financial service for clients worldwide.

He made the comments during the inauguration ceremony of ICBC's new headquarters in the City Of London.

Chinese ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming also expressed his hope to further strengthen of bilateral economic, trade and financial cooperation between the two countries during the ceremony.

The City of London Corporation has already formed a working group with several major banks as well as British Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority to boost London as an off-shore trading center of Chinese currency, also known as yuan.

"As the world's leading financial center, London is uniquely well placed to assist China in its goal of further expanding the international use of the RMB," British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said last week.

The Chancellor also announced the launch of the first-ever RMB denominated bond in London by HSBC on April 18.

The ICBC is the biggest lender in China. Currently, ICBC has 244 overseas branches in 34 countries and regions, and has expanded its presence in Africa after purchasing 20 percent of South Africa's Standard Bank Group.

(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2012)