CITIBANK (China) Co Ltd said yesterday that it has received regulatory approval to launch a credit card business in the Chinese mainland.

The green light from the China Banking Regulatory Commission allows the US-based banking giant to further penetrate the domestic retail banking market. The cards will be issued this year.

''This approval represents a significant milestone in the continued expansion of Citi's business in China's mainland, a priority market for Citi,'' said Stephen Bird, CEO of Citi Asia Pacific.

As foreign banks were previously not allowed to issue credit cards in the mainland on their own, the US bank teamed up with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank to issue co-branded credit cards since 2003.

Citi will now focus on building up its new credit card business while Pudong Development will take care of the existing card business. The two banks remain close strategic partners, Citi said.

The US bank is beefing up its mainland business after its operations were hit by the 2008 global financial crisis.

The approval follows an earlier one for Citi to form a joint-venture brokerage with Orient Securities Co Ltd. In 2011, Citi expanded to three other cities on the mainland and opened 12 new consumer banking outlets.

Source:shanghaidaily