Citi Bulks Up for China Push
The U.S. bank is revving up to cash in on a $11 billion infrastructure push by China. It has added ten client advisers and product experts in Singapore.
New York-based Citi said it has hired ten relationship and product managers in Singapore for Chinese clients. The move comes as Chinese foreign direct investment surges as a result of a massive infrastructure push dubbed Belt and Road.
Under Xi Jinping, China aims to connect its infrastructure to that of Europe, rekindling a Silk Road era network of trade routes between the two. The move is a boon for major banks with operations in China and the wider region, as well as for Chinese banks looking for a foreign toehold.
ASEAN Push
Citi launched its first China desk in Singapore eight years ago, and has since added eight more in Hong Kong, London, New York, Dubai, Johannesburg, Sao Paulo, Kazakhstan and Kenya. The bank offers services such as trade financing, mergers and acquisitions advice, debt and equity issue, foreign exchange, and local business and regulatory expertise to Chinese firms.
«Being an integral player in the global markets, we see firsthand the opportunities that the Belt and Road initiative brings to our clients across our network and we recognize that ASEAN is of strategic importance to the success of it,» Citi Singapore head Amol Gupte said.
