Australia-based ANZ Group plans to set up branches in the pilot free trade zone in Shanghai as it aims to be a super regional bank, its chief executive officer said yesterday.

"The FTZ in Shanghai is a very interesting concept that it will be used as a pilot to test the deregulation of the whole financial sector in China," ANZ CEO Mike Smith said in Shanghai. "ANZ will be very pleased to be part of the development of this trend. We certainly look at the possibility of setting up a branch of ANZ Group or ANZ China, or maybe both in the zone if that makes sense to us."

"We have no limit on investment in China," he emphasized.

Smith said the FTZ in Shanghai could be a direct competitor to Hong Kong but that depends on how loose the rules will be.

China released a negative list for the FTZ on September 29 for overseas participants.

"It tells you what you can’t do," Charles Li, CEO of ANZ China, said in Shanghai. "The government usually tells you what you can do in previous reforms."