Bank of China branch in Brazil

Bank of China (BOC), the world's third largest bank by market value, plans to open its first branch in Brazil in two-three months, the bank said in a written interview with China Daily, as the two countries are planning to use their own currencies in trade transactions.

President Hu Jintao and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva first discussed the idea of replacing the dollar with the yuan and the real as trade settlement currencies when they met at the G20 summit in London last month. Lula said the two nations would continue their talks on how they can conduct trade in the yuan and the real.

"Once the two countries' central banks reach an agreement, BOC is definitely willing to conduct trade settlement business under the agreed guidelines," the bank said.