It is easy to overlook how new the Chinese banks are to the banking scene in Africa. China Construction Bank, another of the Big Four Chinese state-owned banks, got its license to operate in South Africa on the same day as Bank of China in 2000.

"At the time it was quite amazing. China was quite unknown in South Africa," says Dr Windsor Chan, a Hong Kong-born veteran of South African banking, who is now deputy general manager of the bank in South Africa.

"When we first came here, it was not easy. A Chinese bank coming to Africa - people used to ask what are we doing here. Getting deposits was difficult in the first two years," he says.

Chan, 58, who used to work for Barclays in Hong Kong and came to South Africa originally in 1991 to work for Nedbank before joining CCB, says now people see Chinese banks as a haven for their money.

Related readings:  More opportunities in growing market  Africa's biggest bank upbeat  It pays to be more than duly diligent  Resources locomotive needs fuel from banks

"Nowadays our deposit base is as big as a small second-tier local bank here. People see stories of the banking crisis in Europe and wonder where they can put their money more safely. A Chinese bank, of course, because it is backed by the Chinese government."

Chan, who was speaking in the bank's modern 5th floor offices in Sandton, says the bank has always been very keen to get African business as well as Chinese business. He estimates that nearly a third of all its business is local.

"We, of course, love to do business with Chinese state-owned enterprises, but it is not our only business. We want to be a regional player and not necessarily just a Chinese player."

Unlike ICBC, CCB does not have a direct stake in an African bank, but has a memorandum of understanding with First Rand Bank with which it works together on some deals.

"It is not an investment-type of thing, " Chan says. "We do not involve ourselves in their management and they don't engage on our side, but we share information and identify where we can do transactions together."

Such is the demand for Chinese banking services, the single branch that Bank of China opened in Zambia in 1997 is now the 8th largest bank in the country.

Qiu Zhikun, 43, chief executive officer of Bank of China's Johannesburg branch, says it is difficult to contrast the scale of its operations with that of local African banks. "As a foreign bank we cannot compare our size with that of local banks, but we have advantages and unique services in some areas such as in trade finance and international settlement and, of course, in any business related to China. This is our advantage."

Qiu was speaking across a huge polished boardroom table in the company's suite of offices on the 14th floor of Alice Lane Towers in Sandton.

"We are the leading bank in Africa for overseas RMB business. In some African countries the value of their currency has not been stable over the past few years and because of the financial crisis, international currencies such as the US dollar, the euro and the Japanese yen have not been stable either. The RMB meanwhile has been appreciating."

Unlike ICBC, Bank of China has not made any acquisitions in Africa but has China desks at a number of Ecobank branches around Africa. It has similar links with other African banks.

"Cooperating with an agency correspondent bank is our main strategy. We have about 11,000 branches in the Chinese mainland and 4,000 overseas with correspondent banks," he says.

Qiu, a former deputy mayor of Yichang city in Hubei province and who was deputy general manager of overseas business development in Beijing before he moved to Johannesburg two years ago, says it is a very cost-effective business model.

"The advantage of doing it this way means we don't have to set up our own base in every country but we can still cover the whole Africa region," he says.

Since buying the 20 percent stake in Standard Bank, ICBC has deepened its relationship with the South African-based bank.

Last year it took an 80 percent stake in Standard Bank Argentina, which its parent wanted to divest to focus on its core African business.

It is also poised to complete the purchase of 60 percent of Standard's UK commodities and foreign exchange businesses for $600 million.