By Hao Zhou (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-09-14 14:11

Standard Chartered Bank (China) announced the launch of its private banking business in Shanghai yesterday, the Shanghai Securities News reported today.

The private banking business of Standard Chartered targets personal clients with net current financial assets worth more than US$1 million or eight million yuan.

The number of such clients reportedly reached 200,000 by the end of 2005 and is expected to increase 15 percent annually between 2006 and 2008, according to statistics from Datamonitor, one of the world's leading providers of online data, analytic and forecasting platforms.

Taking advantage of its global resources with renowned financial institutes and commercial banks, Standard Chartered is to provide open products and services in accordance with clients' personal requirements.

Standard Chartered Bank, listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has a history of over 150 years in banking and operates in many of the world's fastest-growing markets with an extensive global network of over 1,400 branches.

In China, the bank set up its first branch in Shanghai in 1858, and has remained in operation throughout the past 150 years. Standard Chartered Bank (China) Ltd is one of the first banks to have incorporated officially in China, on March 29, 2007.