Citigroup plans to double China branches Citigroup expects to double the number of bank branches in China to 100 within two to three years as it accelerates its push into the country through its securities joint venture and an independent credit card business. Stephen Bird, chief executive of Asia for Citigroup, said the bank was reaping the benefits of its efforts to help Chinese institutions develop products and technology as its sought to gain approval for its own new ventures. Citi is among a number of banks that bought stakes in Chinese institutions in the hope that they could be built into positions of influence in the market. However, the Chinese government has refused to allow many banks to increase their holdings. On top of this, the new Basel III banking rules make equity stakes in other institutions a much more costly investment from a capital point of view. Citi has a 2.7 per cent stake in Shanghai Pudong Development Bank with whom it ran a credit card business for almost a decade. Having just been granted its own card licence, some people now expect Citi may sell down that stake in preparation for Basel III, as it did recently with its 9.85 per cent stake in HDFC in India. Mr Bird declined to address the issue of the SPDB stake directly in an interview with the Financial Times. "We . . . will no doubt continue to work on other business developments with them in the years to come," he said. It is the group's long-term projects that have helped Citi's standing in China, Mr Bird believes. "When I took over I said everything we said and did in China had to be about the long game, that is how we win trust and ultimately how we get things approved," he said. "We will always be looking for ways to help "China Inc" because your passport in business runs out if you stop doing that." Both the Basel rules and the restrictions on increasing local stakes appear to be adding impetus to banks" determination to try to establish more significant businesses of their own - HSBC said recently that if it could not increase its stake in Bank of Communications above 20 per cent it would try to expand its branch network, which already stands at 110. Citigroup has been investing in its smaller branch network across Asia right through the financial crisis, according to Mr Bird. "In the past three years we've tripled branches in Greater China and doubled in Hong Kong," he said. In two-three years we will pass 100 branches in mainland China from 47 today.  The bank now has 163 branches in greater China, which accounts for about 25 per cent of its $15bn revenues in Asia, including 50 in Hong Kong and 66 in Taiwan. It takes time and is costly to open branches in China, with each requiring a fresh application. Mr Bird is also expecting to launch a securities joint venture this year with China Orient, while the project to rebrand, upgrade and list the former Guangdong Development bank, China Guangfa, in which Citi has a 20 per cent stake, is also nearing fruition with a $5bn share sale expected this year.