Chinese banking giant ICBC set up its first overseas Reminbi Processing Center in Singapore on Friday, in line with the bank's strategy to go international and the fast growth of renminbi business in the region.

ICBC made the decision to set up the center after due consideration and the move showed that the bank believed that the renminbi operations in Singapore enjoyed promising prospects, said Wang Lili, executive director and senior vice president of the world's largest bank.

ICBC will leverage on the favorable geographical location and business environment as an international financial and trade center to make the Singapore branch "ICBC Group's Renminbi Processing Center for Southeast Asia," she said.

The Singapore branch of ICBC started opening renminbi deposit accounts for its customers in 2002 and launched renminbi remittance services for individuals in 2003. It is also one of the banks to first start cross-border renminbi settlement in 2009 when China encouraged the use of such services.

Wang said that the renminbi business of the Singapore branch have been expanding rapidly and that it is now No 1 by the number of transactions and No 2 by volume.

Its renminbi deposits balance has reached nearly 2 billion yuan ($304 million) by the end of February this year and renminbi trade settlements have hit 12.4 billion yuan ($1.9 billion) so far this year.

The Singapore branch has total assets of $2.4 billion by the end of 2010, up 57 percent year on year. Its income before expenses rose 21 percent to reach $18 million and international settlement transactions surged 104 percent to hit $72.3 billion.

Wang said ICBC is striving to expand its cross-border renminbi businesses by leveraging on its global network. The cross-border trade settlement transactions handled by ICBC since July 2009, when the renminbi cross-border settlement pilot project was launched, total more than 150 billion yuan ($98.7 billion).

The bank has opened more than 200 renminbi accounts for overseas entities and correspondent banks, and its renminbi settlement network covers 49 countries and regions, Wang said.

In line with the rapid expansion of renminbi business in Singapore, local and international banks have been racing to offer renminbi deposit and wealth management services to retail customers. Some are also planning to launch renminbi-denominated bond products in the near future.