Xinhua News Agency, Lhasa, September 4 (Reporter Liu Hongming) On the morning of September 4, in the lobby of the Agricultural Bank of China Jilong Port Branch in Jilong Town, Jilong County, Shigatse City, Tibet, merchant Jiba was carefully counting cash. This is the new RMB banknote she just exchanged for US$10,000.
"After the debris flow disaster, I was worried that the U.S. dollars in my hands could not be converted into RMB, which would affect the flow of funds." Jiba, who has been running a hotel in Jilong Town for many years, said that she did not expect that the cross-border financial green channel opened by the Agricultural Bank of China would allow her to complete the exchange quickly. "The service was very timely."
Jiba is used to accumulating foreign currency income from hotels to a certain amount and then converting it. Like her, many supermarkets, restaurants, etc. in Jilong Town have been serving Chinese and Nepalese merchants for a long time, and their daily operating income and expenses involve a lot of foreign currency.
A landslide disaster occurred on the Nepal side, causing heavy casualties and loss of contact at the Gyirong Port in Gyirong County, Shigatse City, Tibet. After the disaster, local business needs such as foreign currency deposits and exchanges were urgently needed.
To this end, Agricultural Bank of China employees continue to sort out customers' urgent foreign-related business needs, open cross-border financial green channels, and have dedicated personnel on duty to connect foreign currency businesses, making every effort to ensure that various financial services such as foreign currency deposits and withdrawals, exchanges, and settlements are continued.
"I originally thought that the foreign currency deposit and withdrawal business would be suspended, but the bank made preparations in time and solved our problem." said a local tour guide. On August 31, he went to the Jilong Port Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China and successfully handled a foreign currency deposit of US$33,000. Recently, the Tibet Autonomous Region Foreign Exchange Co., Ltd. also successfully handled a foreign currency storage business of US$50,000 at the Jilong Port Branch.
"We combine the industrial operation characteristics of cross-border trade, cross-border tourism, and border retail at the port, and timely grasp various foreign-related financial needs through door-to-door visits, proactive inquiries, etc., and minimize the adverse impact of disasters on border foreign-related capital turnover and market operations." said Gesang Wangdui, head of the Jilong Port Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China.
According to statistics, from August 26 to September 4, the Jilong Port Branch handled a total of 7 foreign exchange deposits, with an amount of US$486,300; and handled 5 personal foreign exchange transactions, with an amount of US$35,600.
After the disaster occurred, the Bank of China included Nepalese rupees and Indian rupees in commonly used foreign currency exchange reserves in Jilong Town, and opened a special window for exchange services. It also raised the foreign currency reserve limit based on the local people's demand for U.S. dollar exchange settlement to ensure sufficient and stable foreign currency supply.
Recently, a foreign border trade merchant called the trilingual emergency service hotline of the Tibet Autonomous Region Branch of the Bank of China. The operator patiently and carefully asked about the business background in English, guided the customer to operate mobile banking, and helped the merchant successfully complete a cross-border remittance of US$7,500.
He said that if funds cannot be remitted, it will directly affect the long-term cooperative trade chain.
The relevant person in charge of the Tibet Autonomous Region Branch of the Bank of China said that the branch fully considered the particularity of cross-border services at border ports and took into account the financial demands of domestic people and cross-border merchants. It immediately opened a green channel for emergency services in Chinese, Tibetan and English, and established a special multi-lingual service team to ensure the smooth flow of foreign-related financial services in emergencies.
