Standard Chartered opens 1st rural bank in mainland China

Dec. 1, 2008 (China Knowledge) - U.K.-based lender Standard Chartered PLC<2888><STAN> announced that it has officially opened its first mainland rural bank in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, in an effort to further tap the rural business in mainland China.

The new bank, named Inner Mongolia Helingeer Standard Chartered Village Bank Ltd, is the first foreign-funded rural bank in Inner Mongolia.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the U.K. lender, the new bank will provide farmers, stock breeders and ancillary enterprises in Helingeer County with more access to high-quality financial services and products, including deposits and remittance services initially. Loan service will be launched in near tern, sources reported.

Standard Chartered is very interested in participating in China's rural banking business, said Katherine Tsang, CEO and executive vice chairman of Standard Chartered Bank (China) Ltd, adding that, with the support of regulators and the local authorities, the bank is confident about its rural banking business in China in the future.

Tsang stressed that Standard Chartered expects to make further contribution to the development of financial services industry in rural China.

So far, there are three foreign-invested rural banks under operation in China. HSBC Holdings<5><HBC> has launched two rural banks in central China's Hubei Province and Chongqing Municipality respectively.