(29 March 2016 – Asia) The State Bank of India (SBI) will for the first time launch a dedicated “China desk” for potential investors, underlining the growing importance of the world's second largest economy.
This will mark the first ever China dedicated desk at any Indian bank, following a Japan desk that was set up in New Delhi by the bank last month.
The China desk will operate out of Shanghai, where SBI opened the first Indian bank branch on the Chinese mainland in 2006.
“The China desk will coordinate with SBI India and provide handholding and financial advisory services for Chinese investors,” said K Swaminathan, the bank's Chief Executive Officer (Designate) in China.
The Shanghai-based desk will be handled by Chinese banking executives, Swaminathan said, and will be led by Jean Liu, a banking executive who worked earlier for several Chinese and foreign investment banks in China.
According to bank officials, it will offer Chinese investors “handholding services, and, through the bank's investment banking subsidiary SBI Capital Markets, assistance on company formation in India, joint ventures, funding tie-ups and debt raising.