StanChartered, HSBC 'Poised to Enter FTZ'

British banks HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc are tipped to become the first two foreign banks to set up a presence in Shanghai's planned free trade zone, the first of its kind in China, sources said.

The two are likely to experiment with a wide range of yuan businesses in the FTZ's less-restrictive business environment, they added.

"We are closely following developments related to the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, and we are excited about the opportunities that the Shanghai FTZ will bring to our clients and customers," Standard Chartered said in an e-mailed statement to China Daily on Tuesday.

HSBC, another British bank that, like Standard Chartered, relies heavily on Asia-Pacific business, also expressed its interest in the pilot program.

"We are interested in a presence in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone," the bank said in an e-mail response.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission's Shanghai bureau has contacted a small number of foreign banks, including HSBC and Standard Chartered, to see how they want to operate in the FTZ, according to the South China Morning Post.

The CBRC sought feedback from banks in recent months, said a Shanghai-based senior executive at a foreign bank quoted by the Hong Kong-based newspaper.

"But banks are quite reluctant to invest a large sum of money in the zone, as details are still unclear and foreign banks as a whole are not making very good profits on the mainland," he added.