HONGKONG Bank plans to establish a presence in central and western China, following the latest Chinese Government policy of directing foreign investment to underdeveloped regions.
Hongkong Bank has six branches, including the soon to be opened Beijing branch, and three representative offices in China.
Except for an office at Wuhan, all are along the coast.
'In view of the improvement in the transportation system, foreign investors have expressed more interest in investing in the central and western regions than before,' said Eddie Wang, chief executive of the bank's China operations.
China has opened an additional 10 cities to foreign banks.
These include Xian, Chengdu, Chongqing and Wuhan in the central and western regions.
'Our development focus will be on cities in that region, although the 10 cities include some along the coast,' said Mr Wang.
