Not every bank desires to be a global powerhouse but there are some markets that are TBTI (too big to ignore). Chief executives need to have a China strategy and an India strategy for sure but the TBTI list is growing faster than CEOs can keep up with.

By negotiating directly with Africa, China is changing the rules on commodity trading, writes Martyn Davies.

Following successful IPOs by ICBC and Bank of China in 2006, the two banks return to the gold and silver positions in this year’s listing. Terry Baker-Self reports.

Is the private equity boom a result of the Asian savings glut? The Chinese current account surplus was $250bn in 2006 and is heading for $375bn this year. Foreign reserves hit $1200bn in the first three months of this year. This provides “a base level of liquidity being pumped out into the world”, says Charles Dumas, director of UK-based Lombard Street Research.

A fast momentum of economic growth is providing the backdrop to new laws granting private property rights and an influx of real estate investment, as the country moves closer to liberalisation. Chris Webb reports.

The big Chinese banks have burst into the top echelons of global banking and look set to stay. This year’s Top 1000 shows there are now two banks, ICBC and Bank of China, in the Top 10 world banks in seventh and ninth place, with China Construction Bank close behind in 14th place.

The US and IMF’s targeting of China’s currency has as much to do with playing to the political gallery as it does with economics.

A 10-fold increase in bilateral trade means China is set to eclipse Europe and the US as the main foreign actor in Africa.

China provides an example of growth-driven modernisation that Africans can aspire to, writes Kevin Godier.

KPMG highlights the growth of China’s consumer banking markets while Mercer Oliver Wyman outlines the benefits that can be derived from Basel II implementation beyond simple regulatory compliance.