Scotiabank has obtained China Banking Regulatory Commission approval to open a bank branch in Shanghai, China’s financial centre. Scotiabank is now the only Canadian bank allowed to operate a branch in Shanghai, adding to the largest presence of any Canadian bank in mainland China.

“The opening of our Shanghai branch allows Scotiabank to expand our services and build on our already strong relationships with multinationals operating in China,” said Rick Waugh, president and CEO. “We are optimistic about the potential for growth in China and this branch further demonstrates our commitment to this important market.”

The Shanghai branch will provide local and multinational companies with full lending and deposit-taking services in foreign currencies, with a strong focus on trade finance services to import and export customers in the region. The new branch will also serve as a hub for the foreign exchange and treasury services Scotiabank offers clients across China.

“The Shanghai branch, located in China’s most dynamic market and the home for many of our multinational clients, will allow Scotiabank to provide on the ground support of our clients as they expand in the eastern region of China,” said Michele Kwok, Scotiabank’s senior vice president, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. “This expansion demonstrates our confidence in the future of China’s financial markets”.

Scotiabank operates in 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region, with about 650 employees and 25 branches and offices. The bank primarily offers corporate and commercial products and services, including loans, trade finance, treasury, precious metals, foreign exchange and project and transportation financing, correspondent banking, loan syndications, securities investment and retail mortgage financing in selected countries.

Scotiabank will celebrate its 25th anniversary in China in May 2007, a presence that began with the opening of the Beijing Representative Office in 1982.

On April 12, Scotiabank announced that the China Securities Regulatory Commission granted the bank status as a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor, enabling Scotiabank to trade Renminbi-denominated A shares, as well as treasury, corporate and commercial bonds listed on domestic exchanges.

About the same time, Scotiabank received CBRC approval to conduct derivatives activities in China. This allows the bank to offer interest rate, currency, commodity and other derivative products to both foreign and local Chinese companies and financial institutions.

Scotiabank’s Chongqing branch serves Chongqing and northern China, while the Guangzhou branch serves Guangzhou and southern China. In October 2003, Scotiabank became the first Canadian bank granted a license to commence local currency business in the city of Guangzhou.

Scotiabank first opened a representative office in Shanghai in November 2004, positioning the bank in one of China’s most dynamic and best-developed economic regions, the Greater Yangtze River Delta. The bank also has a representative office in Beijing.

Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, Scotiabank has branch operations in Hong Kong, Egypt, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.