ABN AMRO has seen its revenue explode in the first half and it
is confident that it will be approved for a yuan license.
Its revenue from consumer banking soared 83.8 percent in the
first half, gaining from a network expansion and launch of new
products, ABN AMRO said yesterday. Assets under management more
than doubled from a year ago in the period. Its total revenue in
China swelled about 76 percent in the first half.
The Dutch bank opened a sub-branch in Shanghai yesterday,
boosting its total network to 18 in China. The bank said in July
that it will boost its outlets to more than 20 by the end of
2008.
The bank is still awaiting a license to conduct unlimited yuan
services to Chinese citizens. Its rivals like HSBC, Citi, Standard
Chartered and Bank of East Asia, have already started their yuan
services to tap the affluent Chinese market.
Though confident of getting the yuan license, it is not able to
divulge more details of it now. The possible range of products to
be introduced could include yuan-denominated credit card, as the
bank indicated earlier this year.
The bank opened its locally incorporated entity, ABN AMRO
(China) Co Ltd, in July with a registered capital of four billion
yuan (US$540 million).
ABN AMRO now has about 1,800 employees in China.
(Shanghai Daily November 16, 2007)
