BEIJING (Dow Jones)--Industrial & Commercial  Bank of China Ltd. (1398.HK), the country's largest bank by assets, officially launched a financial leasing unit Wednesday with an initial investment of CNY2 billion.  

The new company, whose Chinese name translates as ICBC Financial Leasing Co., will provide leasing services for aircraft, ships and large equipmentto domestic and international customers, the bank said in a statement.   

The leasing company will also provide financial services including lease transfers and securitization, asset management, and property investment consulting, the bank said.   

According to the statement, the leasing company is the first to be set up by a Chinese commercial bank. It is also the largest financial institution based in the Tianjin Binhai special economic zone.   

In December 2006,  Bank of China Ltd. entered the leasing market with a $965 million purchase of  Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise.