The number of foreign-invested financial institutions setting up shop in Shanghai has continued to increase in 2017.
During the first half of the year a total of four foreign banks obtained approval to operate branch entities in Shanghai, including Japan’s Shoko Chukin Bank, the UAE’s United National Bank, Macau’s Tai Fung Bank and Thailand’s Kasikornbank.
Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank has also obtained approval to establish a branch in Shanghai that is expected to commence operations in October.
During the first half of the year a total of three overseas banks also injected approximately 500 million yuan of capital into their Shanghai branches, including Sweden’s Nordea Bank AB, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and the National Bank of Egypt.
According to data from the Shanghai branch of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, as of the end of June Shanghai was host to a total of 67 branches of foreign banks hailing from 28 different countries and regions, as well as 68 representative offices from a total of 22 different countries and regions.
The launch of China’s One Belt One Road initiative is expected to drive an increase in the number of foreign banks operating in Shanghai, with banks from Jordan, Israel, Iran and Oman all expressing an interest in establishing local branches.
