Banking News
- Citigroup plans to add 14 outlets
Date: 30-Mar-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
CITIGROUP Inc., the world's largest financial-services firm by market value, will add 14 outlets in China this year, seeking to profit from the nation's US$2 trillion in household savings.
Citigroup will also expand its investment banking operations in the country, chief executive Charles Prince said at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday. By the end of 2007, the New York-based bank plans to have 30 outlets in China.
Overseas banks are accelerating expansion in China after the country opened its banking industry in December last year. Foreign banks want to offer more consumer loans, mortgages and credit-card services in local currency to increase their 1.8 percent share of a market with US$5.1 trillion in assets.
'Foreign banks have products that domestic banks haven't been able to develop yet,'' said Jim Antos, a Hong Kong-based bank analyst at Bear Stearns Cos. 'But in terms of branch network, nationwide retail banking, mass market lending, the mainland banks have a scale advantage which will remain for decades to come.''
Citigroup, with 16 consumer bank outlets and two investment bank representative offices on the mainland, incorporated its local business this month to offer banking services to Chinese individuals.
The company plans to beef up commercial banking business in China by adding 1,000 employees in 2007 and increase its stake in Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. to 19.9 percent from 3.78 percent.
Citigroup, one of the first foreign banks to do business in China more than a century ago, has already said it plans to open a branch in Hangzhou, the capital of thriving Zhejiang Province, next month.
Prince reaffirmed that Citigroup was 'very interested?in China's brokerage sector, which is highly regulated.
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