General Electric's financial arm GE Capital hopes to open a bank in China next year to support the conglomerate's expansion in the world's fourth largest economy, a company spokesman said Nov. 21.
GE Capital has won approval from U.S. regulators to expand in China, said Allen Zhou, a spokesman at GE Money, the small business financing arm of GE Capital. GE Capital, which owns 20 banks globally, now plans to submit an application to the China Banking Regulatory Commission by the end of this year, said Zhou. He said GE Capital is also seeking a license to operate non-banking financial services in China.
The Connecticut firm was set to take a stake in Shenzhen Development Bank last month but the deal was terminated, as the price of the stock had gained eight times since the original signing two years ago, analysts said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007
