Foreign bank branches are only allowed to offer limited yuan services.

Starting from December 12, a few foreign banks including HSBC, Citigroup and Standard Chartered, have been allowed to take renminbi deposits from Chinese individuals for amounts of no less than 1 million yuan (US$127,000).

"Successful local incorporation will enable Standard Chartered to provide its clients with a larger product suite as well as a wider array of financial services," said Katherine Tsang, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank, China.

"We are delighted with this progress as we are keen to become a local entity formally in China," she said.

The new entity will be registered as Standard Chartered Bank (China) Ltd, to replace the current branch.

According to Tsang, the approval marks the first step in achieving the bank's objectives in China.

The combined assets of the nine banks account for 55 per cent of the total foreign banks in China, and they contribute 58 per cent of the total profits for foreign banks in China.

1

2

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)