(10 May 2010 – China) Australia’s ANZ Banking Group Ltd has received formal approval from China’s Banking Regulatory Commission to open a fourth foreign branch – this one in Chongqing, Western China.The Bank is targeting 50 to 60 percent of its earnings to come from Asia by 2015, up from 14 percent now, with its China staff nearly doubling next year.
Chongqing has a population of over 31 million people, with GPD registering a 14.9 percent growth last year and some $4.53Bn in foreign investment during 2009 in 2009 grew by 14.9 percent, with over $4.53 billion in foreign investment.
ANZ’s current China platform includes a 19.9 percent stake in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank and a 20 percent stake in the Bank of Tianjin.