Singapore DBS' China operations profitable -CEO

DBS Group, Southeast Asia's largest bank, said on Friday its China operations were profitable and that it was planning to expand there as foreign lenders aggressively tap the potentially lucrative Chinese market.

"We are profitable in China now," chief executive Richard Stanley told reporters after the opening of DBS's Taiwan operation. He declined to give any figures.

"We have 5 branches in China, and we'll open six more branches in China very soon," he said.

DBS, which has 90 percent of its its earnings from Singapore and Hong Kong, is aiming to raise its exposure in Greater China.

The bank recently bought a loss-making Taiwan lender - Bowa Bank - joining the likes of Citigroup , Standard Chartered and HSBC , in an effort to tap Taiwan's T$20 trillion ($625 billion) wealth management market. "Greater China is critical for DBS in the future. We'll continue to invest in Greater China," said chairman Koh Boon Hwee.

Executives said they expected Taiwan operations to churn out profits next year, but declined to provide any figures.

DBS has 40 branches in Taiwan, compared with 70 in Hong Kong, said the chairman. DBS has obtained licenses from Taiwan regulators to kick off wealth management and credit card businesses, said Jerry Chen, general manager and head of DBS Taiwan, adding that the bank planned to raise its Taiwan headcount by 10 percent at the end of 2008 from 950 now.

At around 0700 GMT, DBS shares had lost 1.71 percent, outperforming the Straits Times Index's 1.98 percent decline.

TAIPEI, Friday, Reuters