On 13 December HSBC Rural Bank opened for business in the Cengdu District of Suizhou City in Central China’s Hubei Province, establishing HSBC as the first international bank to enter China’s fast growing rural market.

The initial phase of operations will include deposit-taking from businesses and individuals and financing of agriculture-related businesses. With an initial staff of 22 and capital of RMB10 million (approx US$7.75 million), the bank will also provide trade finance and transactional banking services for export-oriented rural enterprises.