Dubai-based Mashreq Bank has stepped up investments in China-related operations with a USD 125 million capital injection into its Hong Kong arm, its CEO said in an interview, reflecting a wider push by Middle Eastern banks as investment flows between the two regions intensify.

The lender, a major player in the UAE, pumped the fresh capital into its Hong Kong business as it moved to a larger office and “more than doubled its China-related business capacity” in the last 12 months, Mashreq Bank Group CEO Ahmed Abdelaal told Nikkei Asia. He said the bank aims to meet the growing cross-border banking needs from Chinese companies, financial institutions and individuals.

The expansion also underscores a broader shift in China-Middle East ties, which are increasingly being driven by investment rather than traditional trade, Abdelaal said in the interview, held last month in Bangkok during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group.

“We used to see just trading activities between the two counterparts,” Abdelaal said. “Right now, we are seeing greater investment in infrastructure, energy, and logistics.”

He added: “The Chinese companies are not coming to the Middle East to sell only. They are also coming to build.”

The banker said digital infrastructure is emerging as one of the most attractive areas for investment across Asia and the Middle East. The rapid buildout of data centers is creating demand not only for financing but also for energy, logistics and connectivity projects. “This presents clear opportunities for renewable energy, clear opportunities for logistics,” he said.

In September, Chinese tech giant Alibaba unveiled plans to expand its data center footprint in areas including the Middle East, while Tencent said earlier this year that it is exploring opportunities to build data centers in the region.

Mashreq’s number of new Chinese corporate and institutional clients has more than doubled over the past year, backed by expanded relationship manager coverage for such clients, upgraded banking systems and new partnerships with Chinese financial institutions.

For its Hong Kong operations, Mashreq’s revenue and profitability were up roughly 50% year-on-year as of August, while new-to-bank business grew 13% over the same year, according to figures shared by the bank.

Middle Eastern investors, led by deep-pocketed sovereign wealth funds, have pledged to deepen their engagement with China. In Hong Kong, names such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have been spotted in major share listings in the past year.

The list of Middle Eastern lenders with dedicated China operations is expanding, too. Oman’s Sohar International Bank opened its first overseas office in Hong Kong last month. First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the largest lender in the UAE, rented a new office in Cheung Kong Center II in the city’s Central district, more than doubling its space.

Abdelaal said Mashreq is poised to capture these flows. The bank recently completed an inaugural RMB 1 billion (USD 149.7 million) dim sum bond offering—bonds denominated in offshore RMB and marketed in Hong Kong—a move the CEO said was designed both to diversify funding sources and support growing client demand for financing in the Chinese currency.

Issuance of bonds denominated in the offshore yuan rose to a fresh record of RMB 267 billion (USD 40 billion) as of September 24, up nearly 14% year-on-year, according to Hong Kong Exchange and Bloomberg data.

“There are a growing number of clients” seeking to match their funding, revenues, and payments in yuan, Abdelaal said. As business links with China grow, “we are seeing growing trends as far as tapping into RMB as one of the currencies that sits within their portfolio,” he added.

Earlier this year, Mashreq also moved into a new Hong Kong office, located in the same building as FAB. And the bank has established China-dedicated business desks in Hong Kong, India and the Middle East, while also expanding the number of Chinese-speaking relationship managers in Gulf and North African countries. Abdelaal did not disclose the headcount targets for the relationship managers.

Mashreq says it has facilitated billions of dollars of China-related business volumes across trade finance, treasury, capital markets, corporate banking, and cross-border payments. In addition, the bank has arranged large syndicated loans for Chinese conglomerates and distributed Chinese corporate bonds to Middle Eastern investors.

While geopolitical tensions remain a concern for investors, Abdelaal said they have not fundamentally altered the long-term trajectory of economic engagement between Asia and the Middle East.

“I don’t think this is driven much by the current geopolitics,” he said of Middle Eastern banks’ interest in Asia. “Most of the banks who are looking to diversify their businesses and tap into new channels of opportunities have already been looking at Asia in general.”

This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.

Note: RMB figures are converted to USD at rates of RMB 6.68 = USD 1 based on estimates as of October 29, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are approximate and, where appropriate, rounded for ease of reference. They may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.