Binali Yildirim (2nd R), speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, grants the award of "International Bank of the Year" to Gao Xiangyang (1st R), chairman of ICBC Turkey, at an awarding ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, Dec. 20, 2018. ICBC Turkey, a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), on Thursday was named the "International Bank of the Year" for its "distinguished contributions" to Turkey's economy. (Xinhua/Xu Suhui)

ISTANBUL, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- ICBC Turkey, a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), on Thursday was named the "International Bank of the Year" for its "distinguished contributions" to Turkey's economy.

At an awarding ceremony in Istanbul, Binali Yildirim, speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, granted the award to Gao Xiangyang, chairman of ICBC Turkey.

The speaker himself and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev were named "the Statesman of the Year" and "the Statesman of the Year in Central Asia" respectively by the Turcomoney magazine, Turkey's leading journal on finance and economy.

Some Turkish businessmen, institutions and exporting companies were also honored with awards for creating significant job opportunities.

Granting awards for those making contributions to Turkey and the world is a traditional program of Turcomoney, which is marking its 7th founding anniversary.

ICBC Turkey, which was established after ICBC purchased a majority of shares of Turkey's Tekstilbank in May 2015, is a business institution that provides all-round financial services, as it is licensed for commercial banking, investment banking and asset management.

ICBC is China's largest commercial bank as well as the world's largest bank by assets.