KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia has approved a commercial bank license to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC), China's largest commercial bank, the Malaysian central bank said here on Friday.

    Bank Negara Malaysia, or Malaysia's central bank, said in a statement issued here on Friday that the Malaysian Finance Ministry had approved the issuance of a commercial bank license to ICBC.

    The licence followed a bilateral arrangement between the China Banking Regulatory Commission and Bank Negara Malaysia, as well as between the governments of the two countries earlier this year, said the bank.

    It is part of a very limited number of banking licences issued by Malaysia from time to time under a bilateral arrangement, it added.

    Such bilateral arrangement can only be set under such pre-determined criteria as the level of trade and investment linkages, the extent of existing participation of the country in the Malaysian financial sector, the value add it would contribute to the overall development of the Malaysian financial system and the economy, said the bank.

    At present, the Bank of China, another major commercial bank of China, has branches in Malaysia.