Bundesliga club Bayern Munich has signed a new regional partnership with the Industrial Bank of China (CIB), one of the world’s largest banks.
Under the multi-year deal, CIB will produce a range of co-branded Bayern Munich credit cards. The bank will also get exclusive branding rights, rights to host meet and greet events with Bayern players, and rights to host fan trips to the Allianz Arena.
CIB’s first major fan event will take place in Beijing on April 6, when Bayern face Borussia Dortmund in the ‘Bundesliga Klassiker’.
Jörg Wacker, executive board member for internationalisation and strategy at Bayern, said: “This partnership underlines the strong appeal FC Bayern already enjoys in China, and is another important step in expanding our brand and our network.”
In the last year-to-date, Bayern has signed regional partnerships in Asia-Pacific with German boiler manufacturer Viessmann, German interior design firm Häfele Group, and Singaporean water purification brand Lux Asia Pacific.
In 2016, Bayern opened an office in Shanghai, and has since invested in a growing number of fan events, youth development initiatives, and institutional partnerships with clubs and other sports organisations.
Bayern has also played several matches in Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Next month, Bayern will travel to Beijing for the Allianz China Cup, where they will face the Chinese national team at Beijing National Stadium.
Founded in 1988, the CIB has almost 70 million customers, making it one of the 30 largest banks in the world.