BIZCHINA / Center
DBS eyes wealth management
By Wang Zhenghua (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-04-06 08:59
SHANGHAI: DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia's largest bank, is looking
to tap China's renminbi wealth management market after local
incorporation, the Singapore-based bank said.
"With the setting up of the local subsidiary, and in time to come, we
hope to provide the full suite of wealth management services to our
customers in Hong Kong and Singapore, and to local and foreign residents
on the mainland," DBS spokeswoman Eunice Woo said.
DBS and seven other financial institutions, including the Hong Kong-based
Hang Seng Bank and Singapore's Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp, are waiting
for approval from the Chinese banking authorities for local
incorporation. The authorities have granted approval to the first batch
of four overseas banks HSBC, Citigroup, Standard Chartered and Bank of
East Asia.
Local incorporation means the removal of regulatory barriers for foreign
lenders to access the mainland's $2 trillion household savings. It also
means being put on an equal footing with domestic banks in competing for
the high-end consumer banking business, in particular the wealth
management sector.
"China is an integral part of our blueprint to build DBS into a premier
bank in Asia," Woo told China Daily. "We take a long-term view of our
investments in China and will explore any opportunities which will help
us to grow our business in China."
The largest bank in Singapore by assets and a major bank in Hong Kong,
DBS serves corporate, institutional and retail customers through its
operations on the mainland, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the
Philippines apart from the anchor markets of its home country and Hong
Kong.
On the mainland, the lender has been providing banking and financial
services to corporate and institutional customers since its first
Shanghai branch was set up in 1995.
DBS set up its flagship consumer banking outlet in Shanghai. "The
Shanghai Luwan sub-branch offers customers a wide range of services in
renminbi and foreign currencies, including deposit, mortgage, exchange
and remittance services," Woo said.
In December, DBS received the go-ahead from the China Banking Regulatory
Commission to offer local currency time deposits of at least 1 million
yuan to local residents.
The bank now owns 10 branches, sub-branches and representative offices on
the mainland, including those owned by DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
Learn Chinese, Learn Mandarin online
No comments:
Post a Comment