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OCBC Bank is gearing up for an aggressive expansion plan in China. It aims to increase its current 11 branches in the country by over half before the end of 2010, it said.
"We should be able to get an approval for a new branch. I hope some time next month. We’re looking at opening six more sub-branches this year, subject to regulatory approval," said Ms. Leong Wau Leng, chairman & CEO, OCBC Bank (China).
The expansion will bring a total number of 17 branches in China, with its 12th branch expected to open in July.
Despite recent measures by Chinese regulators to tighten bank lending in the country, OCBC said it still expects to book higher loan growth in China in 2010.
"For us to grow 13 percent in 2009, we are already above the average amongst all the foreign banks in China. It should be a better year for us in terms of loans growth. Based on what we have done for the first five months of the year, we’re fairly confident," Ms. Leong added.
The property market in China may see an improvement of up to 20 percent, according to OCBC.
But this will still be within its tolerance level, it said.
Ms. Leong added: "If you look at our portfolio, for the market to go down a good 30 to 40 percent, we’ll still be very comfortable.”
The lender is still confident that non-performing loans in its China business will come in lower than 0.9 percent for the whole of 2010.