Background
Zhang Jianguo was born in 1955, China.
建国 张
Zhang Jianguo was born in 1955, China.
He graduated in 1982 from the Department of Finance in Tianjin College of Finance and Economics, now known as Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, where he also received his masters degree in finance and economics in 1995.
The China Construction Bank was founded in 1954, is headquartered in Beijing, and operates in 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities under the direction of the central government. CCB operations are also found in Hong Kong, Singapore, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Tokyo, and Seoul. Altogether Zhang oversees the work of approximately 300 000 bank employees in 20 000 branches with about US$16 billion in assets. The China Construction Bank handles about two-thirds of the mortgage loans in China. In late November 2007 Zhang Jianguo presided over the opening of the China Construction Bank Sydney, Australia. This is important for the bank, as Australia is China’s ninth largest trading partner and a key supplier of energy and mineral resources to the mainland while China is the second largest trading partner with Australia. The CCB was the first state-owned commercial bank to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is now also listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Setting up the Australian office is an important strategic initiative as the China Construction Bank steps up its overseas business expansion plans. Zhang discussed his goals for this initiative into Australia, ‘We expect to bring benefits to Australia by promoting bilateral trade and would also like to assist Australian companies in Sydney to expand their business in China’ (Riseborough, 2007). The strategic initiative, based on a customer-driven operating concept, aims to improve business processes, expand markets, improve internal management, strengthen risk control, and assist in the rapid growth of the bank with the goal of increasing profitability for the CCB. The bank will turn its global attention to the principals of strengthening its Asian market, consolidating the European and African markets, and looking towards breaking into the American market.
Zhang has much to be proud of during his tenure with the bank. The China Construction Bank was named the ‘Most Profitable Bank in Asia’ by Asiaweek magazine in 2006, the ‘Best Corporate Governance Company’ by Asset magazine in 2007, the ‘Best Banks in Emerging Markets – The Best Bank in China 2007’ by Global Finance magazine and gained the ‘Capital China Outstanding Bank Award’ from Capital magazine in 2007.
To continue its development toward world markets, Zhang sees several directions for progress that are necessary for the CCB: learning how to meet customer needs in the context of local environments, learning from non-Chinese banks on the advancement of corporate governance, strengthening the reform of internal operations and management structures, and strengthening joint efforts with foreign banks while maintaining fair competition. Zhang has also served as deputy general manager and general manager of international business in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).