OREANDA-NEWS. February 28, 2011. BNP Paribas is pleased to announce the appointment of Francois Cristofari as Chairman of BNP Paribas (China) Ltd. He will also retain his current position as Country Head for the BNP Paribas Group in China. BNP Paribas is also pleased to announce that Clarence T'ao will succeed Francois as the new Chief Executive Officer for BNP Paribas (China) Ltd., reported the press-centre of BNP Paribas.

Under Francois' leadership, BNP Paribas has successfully completed its conversion project in China by converting its branches in Beijing, Tianjin and Guangzhou into branches of its local subsidiary, BNP Paribas (China) Ltd (the Bank), headquartered in Shanghai. He also contributed to secure full Renminbi licenses thereby paving the way for the Bank to do business with all categories of customers in China. In his new role, Francois will continue to lead an enhanced China management team to capitalize fully on the substantial business opportunities in the country.

Clarence will lead the China team in the expansion of the Bank's franchise in this market. In particular, he will focus on deepening the Bank's relationship with its existing clients while also building its business with clients who have global expansion plans.

Prior to his current role, Clarence was Co-Head of Structured Finance for BNP Paribas, Asia-Pacific and he was based in Hong Kong. He joined the Group in year 2000 and has since then helped build a firm foundation for the BNP Paribas franchise in the regional loan syndication and structured finance businesses. Prior to joining BNP Paribas, Clarence has held senior positions at various banking institutions in Asia and North America respectively.

"China is one of our priority markets with a wealth of potential brought on by the strong growth of its economy. We have operated in China almost uninterruptedly for over 150 years and we have a team with in-depth market insight and experience to fully leverage our global expertise for the benefit of our clients. The appointments of Francois and Clarence bear testament to our commitment to this market," said Eric Raynaud, Head of BNP Paribas Asia Pacific. "With a reinforced China management team, we are now in a better position to benefit from the strong growth in China," added Mr Raynaud.

BNP Paribas in China
BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is one of the six strongest banks in the world* and the largest bank in the eurozone by deposits. With a presence in more than 80 countries and more than 200,000 employees, BNP Paribas is a leading European provider of financial services on a worldwide scale. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions (IS) and Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB). In its CIB and IS activities, BNP Paribas enjoys top positions, solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia.

BNP Paribas' presence in China dates back to 1860 when it opened its first office in Shanghai. Since then, the Bank has almost had an uninterrupted presence in the country. In April 2008, BNP Paribas secured the approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) for converting the branches of BNP Paribas in Beijing, Tianjin and Guangzhou into branches of its existing subsidiary, BNP Paribas (China) Ltd, which is headquartered in Shanghai.

BNP Paribas (China) Ltd currently employs more than 300 staff, providing banking, financing and advisory services on both CIB and IS fronts. In 2009, BNP Paribas (China) Ltd was granted a Renminbi banking license by the CBRC.

As of April 2010, BNP Paribas Investment Partners (the asset management arm of BNP Paribas) holds a 49 percent stake in HFT Investment Management which is a joint-venture with Haitong Securities (51 percent stake).

BNP Paribas has a 12.6 percent stake in Bank of Nanjing.

On December 16, 2010, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its long-term rating on BNP Paribas (China) Ltd from "A+" to "AA-" and affirmed the bank's short-term credit rating at "A1+". The outlook is stable.

*Rated AA by Standard & Poor's i.e. 3rd rating on a scale of 22.