DBS celebrates 10 years in Shanghai with official opening of relocated branch

DBS celebrates 10 years in Shanghai with official opening of relocated branch

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Plans to open sub-branch in Shanghai and expand presence in Yangtze River Delta Region

SHANGHAI, NOVEMBER 14 2005 - DBS Bank (星展银行) marks its 10 years in Shanghai with the relocation of its branch to Azia Centre, the newest office building in Lujiazui (陆家嘴) of Pudong. Lujiazui is Shanghai's financial centre and is home to the head offices of local and foreign banks.

DBS Shanghai Branch, which serves corporate and institutional customers, offers comprehensive financial and advisory services including loans, trade finance, deposits and project financing, syndicated loans and remittances in both foreign currencies and RMB. The relocation to a bigger premise is in line with DBS' plans to grow its operations and to better serve its customers in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region.

In 1998, just three years after it was set up, DBS was among 10 foreign banks in Shanghai to receive a RMB licence to conduct RMB business with foreign-invested enterprises and foreign individuals. Today, its Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen branches are allowed to offer RMB services to Chinese corporations, foreign-invested enterprises and foreigners in 18 designated cities. For Shanghai, the services are also extended to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

Vice Chairman of DBS Bank Ltd and Chairman of DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited Frank Wong said: "China is an integral part of our blueprint to build DBS into a premier bank in Asia. Our growing investments underscore DBS' commitment to China. Over the years, we have steadily grown our business and network in the Pearl River Delta region, Yangtze Delta region and the Beijing-Tianjin Corridor. We choose to focus on these three areas because they attract the largest share of foreign direct investments and many of our customers are located in these regions.

"DBS has leading positions in its twin hubs, Hong Kong and Singapore, Asia's key financial centres. Both Hong Kong and Singapore enjoy strong bonds and cultural affinity with China. DBS is therefore in a unique position to help our customers to leverage on growth and investment opportunities in the three key economies of Asia.

"In addition, DBS has a strong regional banking franchise and wide correspondent banking network. As a bank that is born and bred in Asia, we have a deep understanding of Asia and the local cultures. As a specialist in banking in Asia, we believe that DBS will be a partner that can help our corporate customers to achieve a new level of growth."

Richard Leung, DBS' Country Head for China, said: "DBS is committed to ensuring that our business offerings meet the banking and financial needs of our customers in China, whether on the corporate front or on an individual basis. We are now getting ready to enter into a new frontier in Shanghai. We plan to set up a new sub branch in Shanghai in first quarter next year that will offer personal and priority banking services. In May, DBS set up its first consumer banking branch in Shenzhen. Leveraging on our extensive experience in consumer banking, expertise and infrastructure in Singapore and Hong Kong, we are confident that DBS' suite of products and services will meet the needs of customers in China."

DBS also announced today that its applications to set up a branch in Suzhou and a representative office in Hangzhou were approved. It expects the Hangzhou Representative Office to start operation next month and to open the Suzhou Branch by the first quarter next year. The expanded reach in China will further strengthen DBS' position in the Yangtze Delta Region, bringing it closer to its corporate and enterprise customers in that region. It will also increase DBS' network in China to five branches and four representative offices.

The last 12 months have been an exciting year for DBS China. DBS was granted a licence to provide financial derivative products in China since November 2004. It was the first foreign bank to establish a presence in the fast-growing Dongguan city in December last year. In May, DBS officially launched its consumer banking business in China at Shenzhen. Two months ago, DBS Beijing received approval to offer RMB banking services to both foreign-invested and Chinese enterprises and foreign individuals in Northern China.

Through its expanded network in China, DBS customers can also access the Bank's expertise in capital markets and loan syndications in Hong Kong and Singapore. DBS has helped many customers in China to raise funds in the capital markets. One of DBS' most notable achievements was the HK$609 million public listing for Li Ning Group, China's leading sportswear company, in Hong Kong last year. It was also one of the co-lead managers of China Construction Bank's HKD66 billion IPO last month, the largest ever Chinese IPO issue.

It also arranged a 10-year RMB1.037 billion project financing for Vopak Shanghai Logistics. The deal was the first long-term RMB project financing deal arranged and funded by an international bank, and was named "Asia Pacific Logistics Deal of the Year 2004" by Euromoney Project Finance magazine. DBS has been well recognised as one of the top arrangers of China syndicated loans for the past few years. This year, it was ranked top three in Basispoint's China loans' league table for January to September.

In addition to DBS Shanghai Branch, DBS also has branches in Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and representative offices in Tianjin, Fuzhou and Dongguan.

About DBS

Headquartered in Singapore, DBS is one of the largest financial services groups in Asia. The largest bank in Singapore and the fifth largest banking group in Hong Kong as measured by assets, DBS has leading positions in consumer banking, treasury and markets, asset management, securities brokerage, equity and debt fund raising. Beyond the anchor markets of Singapore and Hong Kong, DBS serves corporate, institutional and retail customers through its operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and The Philippines. In China, the bank has branches and representative offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Fuzhou, Tianjin and Dongguan. The Bank's "AA-" and "Aa2" credit ratings are among the highest in the Asia-Pacific region. More information about DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank can be obtained from our website www.dbs.com.