French bank eyes expansion in Chinese market

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BEIJING, April 13 -- France's Societe Generale
will open 50 new outlets in China in the coming years as part of an expansion in
the market despite the global financial crisis, a senior bank official
saidSunday in Shanghai.

"The bank will first expand into the affluent coastal
areas, and we will also step-by-step expand into other cities (riding) on
China's big growth potential," Frederic Blanc, managing director and deputy head
of commercial and personal banking at Societe Generale (China) Ltd, told
Shanghai Daily Sunday.

Its parent company, which is France's third-biggest
bank, has given its string support to its Chinese subsidiary to expand business
in China despite the global financial turmoil, Blanc said.

The French bank set up its locally incorporated
subsidiary - Societe Generale (China) - in September with a registered capital
of 4 billion yuan (586 million U.S. dollar) in Beijing so that it could provide
a full range of yuan services.

In line with the bank's network expansion, it will at
least double its number of staff in China. The bank now has about 500 employees
in Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Tianjin and Guangzhou. The bank opened an outlet in
Guangzhou in Guangdong Province last month and will open a sub-branch in
Shanghai's Puxi area Monday.

The bank is expected to get the approval from the
China Banking Regulatory Commission to offer retail yuan services to Chinese
residents this year. It will launch new products such as yuan-backed individual
mortgages, non-secured credit and more wealth management products once it
obtains the yuan license.

The bank expects to launch yuan-backed debit cards in
the first quarter of next year and is preparing for its bank card center in
Beijing. It has already started negotiations with China UnionPay Co to join its
clearing system.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)