Woori Bank, South Korea's No. 2 lender by assets, said it set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in China Monday as part of its efforts to tap the Asian banking market.
Woori Bank, the flagship unit of Woori Finance Holdings, said it launched Woori Bank China Ltd. in Beijing to expand into the Chinese retail banking market. Woori became the first South Korean lender to set up a subsidiary in China.
The establishment of the Chinese unit by Woori Bank came amid increasing efforts by South Korean lenders to make inroads into foreign markets as competition heats up in the domestic market.
"By opening the Chinese unit, we are moving one step further toward establishing an Asia-wide network," said Park Byong-won, chairman of Woori Finance. "By 2010, we aim at opening 53 branches in China and raising the number of branches to 200 around the world."
Woori Bank said it plans to beef up retailing and private banking services in China. It added it plans to start the debit card business in 2008 before expanding into the credit card market later.
Woori Bank posted a net profit of 244.3 billion won ($268.4 million) in the third quarter, down 53.9 percent from a year earlier. Currently, the lender has 39 branches around the world.