Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is teaming up with Chinese bank Shenzhen Development Bank to launch a credit card in China, tapping the country's $2 trillion in domestic savings.

The co-branded card would be Wal-Mart's second in as many months, following a deal with Bank of Communications Co, which is 19.9-percent owned by HSBC Holdings Plc.

GE Money, the consumer finance arm of General Electric Co, will provide technical support for the card venture, which would be unveiled on Friday, a Shenzhen Development Bank spokeswoman said.

The latest card would be offered in affluent southern China, while the Bank of Communications co-branded card is available in the northern part of the country. Both credit cards are dual-currency and can be used inside China or abroad.

Foreign banks are currently prohibited from independently issuing any type of bank card or setting up card joint ventures in China. HSBC and Citigroup Inc, two early market entrants, are seeking to become the first companies to do so.

Wal-Mart, which competes with Carrefour SA and other global retailers in China, operates 66 stores in 34 cities across the country.

Wal-Mart is planning to buy Trust-Mart, a closely held Taiwan company with 100 supercenters in China, for US$1 billion, sources said last week, which would more than double its presence in the world's most populous country.

U.S. private equity firm Newbridge Capital bought a 17.89 percent stake in Shenzhen Development Bank for 1.24 billion Yuan in 2004, making the U.S. firm the first foreign controlling shareholder of a local bank.

Last October, GE Consumer Finance said that it would pay US$100 million for a 7.3 percent stake in Shenzhen Bank, a deal that hasn't yet been approved by Chinese regulators.

Source:佚名