Mar. 6, 2007 (China Knowledge) – Bangkok Bank plans to invest five billion baht to incorporate in mainland China.

It will apply for a new local bank license in China so as to offer a full range of financial services on par with Chinese domestic banks, according to a Bangkok Post report citing the bank's executive chairman Piti Sithi-Amnuai.

Bangkok Bank's four branches in China are currently allowed to offer six main financial services to Thai and overseas investors: deposit accounts, funds transfer, foreign exchange, trade finance, U.S. dollar-based loans, and letters of guarantee.

The bank is likely to upgrade one of its four China branches to headquarters. Its four branches in China are located in Shanghai, Shantou, Xiamen, and Beijing.

Bangkok Bank, which entered the Chinese market in 1986, currently operates full service branches in Shanghai, Shantou, Xiamen, and Beijing, as well as two branches in Hong Kong.

Bangkok Bank also holds a 10% stake in the PICC Life, a joint venture founded in 2005 by PICC Holdings, Bangkok Bank, Japan's Sumitomo Life Insurance and Hong Kong's Asia Financial Holdings. The stake is seen by the bank as a crucial step to entering the insurance market in China, a high growth industry that is increasing by 30% per year.