Bank of China (BOC), one of the five biggest state-owned commercial banks in China, announced yesterday that it will restructure its Cambodia operations away from the parent company by selling the assets to BOC Hong Kong for $171 million in two separate transactions subject to regulatory approval.

BOC Hong Kong will also acquire Indonesia operations from BOC for $206 million.

“The proposed acquisitions of these two branches will further expand BOC Hong Kong’s regional network, in line with the long-term overseas development strategy of the BOC Group,” BOC Hong Kong’s chief executive Yue Yi said in a statement.

BOC launched operations in Cambodia in 2010 and has two branches. The bank has announced plans to open additional branches in Sihanoukville and Siem Reap.

The bank’s Cambodian operations recorded a profit of $10.2 million in 2015, an increase of 36.8 per cent compared to the previous year, according to its latest published annual report.

The Phnom Penh branch saw cross-border settlement volumes of $2.9 billion in 2015, an increase of 80 percent year-on-year.