Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) President Mehmet Ali Akben has confirmed that Bank of China (BOC) will start its operations in Turkey by the end of the year.

Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA), Akben said the BDDK had recently held a meeting with the vice president and other representatives of Bank of China.

Akben said they are currently in talks with the bank, while pointing out that establishing a bank can take a long time as it goes through several procedures.

"I suppose they will start their operations in Turkey by the end of the year. We do not foresee any shortcomings or problems," he said.

The BDDK president said, "We have discussed some important projects with BOC's high executives.They are now considering the issue of resource procurement for projects like energy, bridge and Channel Istanbul. They also care about the Silk Road project. They often invite us over and want us to observe the project ourselves."

Bank of China had launched its preparations to establish a commercial bank in Turkey last year. The bank's executives including its Vice President Gao Yingxin held talks with BDDK board members last year regarding the licensing process.

After the completion of the application process and submission of the required documents in April, the bank was granted permission to operate in Turkey during a BDDK board meeting held in May.

The world's seventh largest and the third largest in China, it has been conducting its operations in Turkey through a representative office since 2011, and had requested to establish a commercial bank with a capital of TL 300 million in Turkey.

While Bank of China will hold 99.99 percent of shares in the bank, four other companies, namely, Best Stream, Maxon, Well Ocean, and Union Favour, which are owned by Bank of China Group Investment Limited, a subsidiary of BOC, will the rest 0.01 percent of shares.