Dutch bank ABN AMRO will speed up its network expansion in China in preparation for the opening of retail renminbi business to foreign banks by the end of this year.

"We want to be close to our customers," said Kadichah Hei, vice- president of ABN AMRO Bank's (China) consumer client sector. "It's important for a bank to be close to its customers, especially in a country as large as China."

The bank plans to open two new branches in China's central regions and a further sub-branch in Shanghai soon.

Hei said the bank would open more outlets this year, but she declined to give further details.

By the end of June, ABN AMRO had three branches and five sub-branches in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen.

The bank has another three offices in Guangzhou, Wuhan and Tianjin. "But we don't have a plan to upgrade these representative offices to branches in the short term," Hei added.

As foreign banks will be able to provide a retail renminbi service to local residents by the end of this year, they are quickening their network expansion.

HSBC, Europe's largest bank, has expanded its network presence in China to 23 outlets, including 12 branches and 11 sub-branches. And the number of branches will increase to 14 by the end of this year, with the number of sub-branches also growing.

The number of Standard Chartered branches and sub-branches jumped from eight to 14 in 2005, and that number is likely to exceed 20 by the end of this year.

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