Dutch bank ABN AMRO plans to locally incorporate its business in
China in order to provide renminbi (RMB) services to individual
customers, a bank official said yesterday.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has proposed that
foreign players locally incorporate their business worth at least 1
billion yuan (US$125 million) in order to secure a license to offer
RMB services to local residents.
"ABN AMRO is in the position to boost business in various
sectors in China's mainland, but all the business should be done in
line with relevant regulatory rules," the bank's China executive,
Linda Wong, told the press.
ABN AMRO is the first foreign bank to agree to the CBRC
proposal, for which the regulator is seeking advice before putting
it into effect.
China must fully open its financial markets to foreign banks by
the end of this year under a commitment to the World Trade
Organization.
Richard Yorke, HSBC Chief Executive Officer China, also said
that the Europe's biggest lender is looking at the CBRC document,
adding that it has an ambitious expansion plan in China for the
next two years.
(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2006)
