Bank of China Ltd, the nation's fourth-largest lender by market value, will expand its overseas business mainly through mergers and acquisitions, the bank's president Li Lihui said on Thursday on the sidelines of the ongoing 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

"We will likely invest in financial institutions in the United States and Europe as those institutions have a low market capitalization at present," he said.

He also said that the bank plans to increase the number of its overseas branches.

zhengyangpeng@chinadaily.com.cn