Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country's biggest lender, said on February 24 that its Middle Eastern unit in 2012 saw pre-tax profits of $54 million, up 69 percent year on year, while its total assets increased 29 percent to $3.96 billion.

Tian Zhiping, regional CEO of Dubai-based ICBC Middle East, said that 2012 was another year of strong growth because the company continued to benefit from its regional franchise and unique position as a bridge for trade and investment between the Middle East and China.

ICBC said its branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi of United Arab Emirates and in Doha of Qatar contributed to the strategic expansion of the bank's Middle Eastern business.

More EU Investment

Europe has attracted twice as much investment as the United States from Chinese investors in the past two years, U.S. consulting firm Rhodium Group said in a report on February 25.

Annual flows of Chinese direct investment to the EU increased from less than $1 billion before 2008 to an average of $3 billion in 2009 and 2010, before tripling to more than $10 billion in the past two years, according to the report.

In the United States, China's direct investment surged from less than $1 billion in 2008 to $5 billion in 2010, before dropping to $4.7 billion in 2011 and reaching a record high of $6.5 billion in 2012, which remained below the levels seen in the EU in the past two years.

This was mostly driven by commercial opportunities resulting from the fiscal and economic crisis in the eurozone, according to Thilo Hanemann, Research Director of the Rhodium Group and the author of the report.

"Chinese investors seized opportunities to buy into cash-strapped European industrials and assets promising stable long-term returns such as utilities and other infrastructure," he noted.