DFCU bank has partnered with Bank of China, the world's largest trade settlement bank, to further facilitate and improve trade between Uganda and China.

Speaking to the two bankers in Kampala on Dec. 6, dfcu's managing director Juma Kisaame said:

"With the opportunity brought by economic globalization and characterized by increasingly close connections between China's economy and world economy, our partnership with Bank of China is an exciting step forward where the two banks are now better placed to facilitate trade and capital flows between China and Uganda."

Kisaame added that the partnership comes at a time when there is a growing demand for customers travelling between the two countries. He added the partnership comes with the introduction of an RMB Account to facilitate international trade transactions.

"This means customers can now pay for goods imported from China directly to avoid exchange rate loss for the third currency which is more convenient and saves money," he said. The banks will utilise the collaboration to offer off shore investment propositions in China, trade finance facilities and co-financing of viable investment projects.

According to available data, the volume of trade between Uganda and China expanded from $16.5million in 2001 to over $399m in 2011, according to the national statistics body-the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS).