The Switzerland-based AIG Private Bank Ltd. on Monday opened a representative office in Shanghai, becoming the first foreign private bank in this largest financial hub of eastern China.

AIG Private Bank CEO Eduardo Leemann said China has ranked second in Asia, next only to Japan, in terms of population of high-end customers, the target clients of private banks.

Roger Yuen, chief representative of the AIG Private Bank's Shanghai office, said the newly established office will do its best to deeply understand Chinese laws and regulations on financial services, follow any possible policy shifts in this regard and adverstise its private banking services for local potential clients. The office is not allowed to directly provide financial services in Shanghai, Yuen added.

Wang Huaqing, head of the Shanghai Banking Regulatory Bureau, said at the opening ceremony of the AIG Private Bank's Shanghai office that "Shanghai plans to build the framework of an international financial hub in 2010, and the hub will basically take shape in 2020. This demands concerted efforts by both Chinese and foreign financial institutions."

AIG Private Bank Ltd. launched an office in Hong Kong in 1985, and is expected to open a branch in the special administrative region at the end of this year.

Source: Xinhua