What is the Agricultural Bank of China?

The Agricultural Bank of China, or ABC as it’s known for short, is one of the biggest banks in the world. Founded in 1951, it has its headquarters in Beijing, with branches scattered throughout China. It also has sites in London, New York, Frankfurt, Sydney and Tokyo.

Where have you heard about the Agricultural Bank of China?

It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that China has emerged as a global economic superpower in recent years. As of 2016, the ABC was ranked by Forbes as the third largest and most valuable company in the world, behind two other Chinese banks.

What you need to know about the Agricultural Bank of China.

The ABC has around 24,000 branches worldwide, and boasts more than 320 million retail customers and nearly 3 million corporate clients. It has a rural focus, with clients ranging from individual farmers to the country’s largest food and agricultural wholesalers. It does provide for non-agricultural customers though.

The ABC went public in 2010. At the time, the share sale was the world's biggest ever initial public offering.

Although China’s banking system now operates more like Western banks, it’s still under the strict control of the Chinese government.

Find out more about the Agricultural Bank of China.

Learn more about the Chinese banking system by reading our definitions of the Bank of China and China Construction Bank.