Antwerp Port Authority has made a partnership agreement with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), as the two parties seek new opportunities that match the One Belt One Road strategic plan launched by China in Autumn 2013.
With this project China aims to link its main industrial cities more closely to commercial centres elsewhere in Asia, the Middle East and Europe and, within this framework, Antwerp has been identified as an important region, with investment opportunities in the port forming an important source of collaboration.
As part of this collaboration ICBC will for example bring the port of Antwerp and related investment opportunities to the attention of Chinese investors, while the port’s business activities will be promoted among ICBC’s customers.
“Our efforts are directed at strengthening the positions of both sides as part of the One Belt One Road project,” explained chief commercial officer Luc Arnouts who signed the MoU on behalf of the Port Authority. “Antwerp is an attractive partner not only because of its location in the heart of Europe; its many overseas shipping connections make Antwerp a leading port at the western end of the modern ’Silk Road.’
'Antwerp is also an important partner for china from the strategic point of view, thanks to the various collaboration agreements with ports or regions along the New Silk Road. Add to that the numerous attractive investment opportunities in our port, and the checklist that led to today’s agreement is complete,” he concluded.
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