Bank of China, the second biggest banking group in the republic, opened its first branch in the Netherlands yesterday, the Financieele Dagblad reports. The bank, on Rotterdam’s Westblaak, will focus on current accounts and international payment traffic to and from China.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Rotterdam mayor Ivo Opstellen said that arond 33% of the containers moved through Rotterdam port come from China and that this percentage is growing. ‘Rotterdam is developing into the logistics centre for Chinese trade with the European continent,’ he said.