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DBS looks for fresh stimulus from China's fiscal package

By Wang Zhenghua and Hu Yuanyuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-20 11:50

DBS Bank (China) Limited, a subsidiary of Southeast Asia's largest bank DBS Group, is seeking opportunities from China's 4 trillion yuan economic stimulus package.

"We are particularly interested in the financing plan for environmentally friendly industries," said Teresa Lin, chief executive officer of DBS Bank (China) Limited.

DBS Group announced earlier it would cut 900 jobs, or 6 percent of its staff.

"But the job cuts, mainly in Hong Kong and Singapore, are not because of the financial turmoil but as part of our structural reshuffle," said Richard Stanley, CEO of DBS Group, adding that the bank still needs more staff in China, including those working in the marketing, risk control, operations and finance departments.

Stanley said DBS would continue to focus on Singapore and Hong Kong, two core areas for the bank, and strengthen regional expansion by increasing investment in the Chinese mainland, India and Indonesia.

"China is a key priority for DBS," he said. "We are in the process of looking for branch locations and launching new businesses."

The bank set up a branch in Tianjin yesterday and will soon open its seventh branch in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

"But currently, our major focus is still in cities, and we will take a three-pronged approach, concentrating on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), large companies doing business in China, and consumer banking," said Stanley.

Despite growing economic uncertainty, the bank will further boost its loans to China's SMEs, said Lin. "We will actively contact our customers to better understand their real needs, whether in terms of capital, services or more innovative products."

SMEs' difficulties begin as early as 2006 but worsened with the ongoing financial turmoil.

"But on the other hand, we will also strengthen our risk management."