FTZ branch to help Westpac expansion

Australia's Westpac Banking Corp has opened a sub-branch in China (Shanghai) Piloted Free Trade Zone to target opportunities brought about by China's ongoing financial market liberalization, increased global use of the renminbi, and the recently signed China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

The FTZ branch will be an extension of the bank's service offerings in China across trade finance, commodity finance, debt, capital markets, derivatives and foreign exchange, complementing the lender's main branches in Shanghai and Beijing, said Rob Whitfield, chief executive of Westpac Institutional Bank.

Since the FTZ was launched in September 2013, more than 40 lenders, including 20 foreign ones, have opened a branch or sub-branch within the zone offering services to facilitate trade between China and the rest of the world.