OVERSEAS banks intend to woo affluent Chinese in anticipation of higher returns in the country after four of them launched their retail yuan business on the Chinese mainland, an industry survey revealed yesterday.

The four lenders - HSBC, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of East Asia - were the first batch of lenders allowed to offer unlimited retail yuan products to Chinese customers in April.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey showed that over the next three years, the overseas banks' three most important retail products are expected to be credit cards, investment products and mortgages.

HSBC debuted its new Premier service in China and in 35 countries and regions where the bank giant has a presence yesterday.

"HSBC will focus on its wealth management brand, Premier, in the retail yuan business in mainland," said Catherine Fok, head of personal financial services at HSBC Bank (China) Co Ltd.

Meanwhile, BEA was the first among the four to launch a yuan-backed investment product in Shanghai.

"The business of foreign banks in China is booming as the Chinese middle-class takes root, foreign investment in the industry soars and China's regulatory environment governing the sector continues to open up under World Trade Organization rules," said PwC.

Over 80 percent of the banks surveyed by PwC predict annual revenue growth rates of at least 20 percent for 2007. By 2010, only four banks forecast annual growth below 20 percent.