OREANDA-NEWS. March 29, 2013. ICBC has recently launched a new service nationwide for personal customers to buy crude oil via account, the first such service in China, said in an announcement of the Bank. The new service offers more asset allocation options for ICBC personal customers.

The new service is a new investment option for ICBC personal customers to buy crude oil via account in RMB or USD, only crude oil shares are counted, no withdrawal on the physical crude oil. This service is available for sale in tranches. In each tranche, ICBC will inform the starting date, ending date for trading and the settlement date. Customers are welcomed to buy/sell crude oil within the period between starting date and ending date.  If customer has a balance of crude oil in the account on the ending date, ICBC will use the international market price on the ending date as reference to settle the crude oil for the customer. Depending on the price quoted for different types of crude oil, there are two types of crude oil available via account: North America Crude Oil and International Crude Oil. At this stage, ICBC launches North America Crude Oil first for customers to buy.

The starting trading amount and minimum increment are both 0.1 barrel. Customers can buy/sell crude oil via account, in real-time or placing order (valid for 120 hours longest) under "T+0" system, which means crude oil shares bought can be sold on the same day, and the amount after selling the crude oil shares can be used to buy again on the day, so customers can buy/sell crude oil many times in a day.

Customers should go through the risk tolerance test and suitability test, at ICBC outlet or online, before deciding to invest. Once completed, they are welcomed to open an account for buying/selling crude oil, placing order or enquiry via Internet Banking or Telephone Banking. Currently, the hours for trading North America Crude Oil are 9:00-24:00 (Monday), 0:00-3:00, 9:00-24:00 (Tuesday-Friday), 0:00-3:00 (Saturday).

This service has many benefits, said industry insiders. Customers are allowed to buy/sell crude oil in different currencies, with low starting amount, long trading hours, flexible trading option, and real-time clearing of funds. Since international price of crude oil is affected by many factors and changes very often, the new service is suitable for customers who understand crude oil market and can bear the risk.

The new service adds another member to ICBC's existing offering of trading via account, which includes services for personal customers to trade precious metals, FX, crude oil via account under 10+ sub-products, said an executive at the Bank. ICBC ranks No.1 among all banks in China in terms of transaction turnover and number of customer, reflecting ICBC's dominance by acting first. In the next step, ICBC will continue assessment of the market's potential through product innovation, resource consolidation and channel expansion. More cutting-edge products and services will be offered to investors to better meet their needs of diversified investments.