SHANGHAI, May 28 (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co has
injected 2.5 billion yuan ($394.08 million) into its China unit,
the latest foreign bank to beef up its Chinese operations.
Foreign banks, including HSBC and Singapore’s DBS
Group, have either injected or are planning to pump in
capital into their China units which are expected to grow
rapidly over the coming years even as growth in the world’s
second-biggest economy comes off the boil.
“The additional capital will better position the bank in the
evolving regulatory environment and cement our commitment to
clients in China,” Zili Shao, Chairman and chief executive of
J.P. Morgan China, said in a statement on Monday.
“The capital will be used to expand the bank’s branch
network, develop products, increase corporate lending, and
recruit employees,” Shao added.
The injection brings the registered capital of the locally
incorporated unit to 6.5 billion yuan.
The local unit, which conducts commercial banking businesses
in China, has also received regulatory approval to open its 7th
branch in China in Suzhou, west of Shanghai, the statement said.
JPMorgan has a separate investment banking joint venture in
China.
HSBC injected 2.8 billion yuan into its China unit
last year, even as it laid off several hundred investment
bankers in London, Hong Kong and elsewhere as part of its jobs
cull to save billions of dollars.
DBS, Southeast Asia’s largest bank, said in April it is
planning to make an injection of 2.3 billion yuan into its China
unit to increase its network and staff, and upgrade
infrastructure and other technology platforms.
