CMB opens Sydney office
(18 September 2017 – Australia) China Merchants Bank (CMB) has announced that it will be opening an office in Sydney, after being given the green light for a commercial banking from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
CMB’s entry will mark the six Chinese bank to set up show in Australia, following domestic rivals Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications and Agricultural Bank of China.
According to the bank, it will focus on wholesale transactions with large institutions including loans, financial advisory and cash management services.
CMB’s priority is to service existing Chinese clients looking to do business in Australia, however the banks local general manager, Heng Zhang, said it would consider new local clients.
Zhang added that its private banking unit will not be a major focus in Australia, despite it being one of the top 15 private banks in China.
"We are interested in light asset banking," Zhang told the Australian Financial Review.
"We have multinational clients who are here and we want to service them locally. Oceania has been a hot spot for Chinese investments."
It would also not be engaging in the real estate "private lending" sector, which is gaining ground in Australia by filling the gap left by large local banks that have curtailed development and construction loans.
The bank was granted a wholesale license It obtained its wholesale licence after applying to APRA in late 2015.
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