August 14 – Italian Serie A team making inroads into the Chinese sponsorship market have been dominated recently by deals around Suning-owned Inter Milan, but now Juventus have stepped up their game with China Merchants Bank becoming an Official China Regional Partner and the Official Chinese Bank Partner until 2020.
This is the first move into football club partnerships for China Merchants Bank. It is the fifth Chinese deal Juventus has signed locally.
The deal will see the bank issue a Juventus-themed credit card carrying the club logo and an image of the team shirt in club colours.
Credit card holders will receive special offers from the bank. More Juventus-themed services and benefits are expected to be rolled out by the bank.
China Merchants Bank was founded in 1987 and is the first share-holding commercial bank in China with its shares wholly owned by corporate legal entities in China. Headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, the bank has more than 500 branches in mainland China and one in Hong Kong.
Juventus’ signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer is accredited with hugely increasing the profile and attractiveness of Juventus to sponsors in China.
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