STANDARD Chartered Bank yesterday launched its private banking business in China to target the growing number of millionaires, joining rivals, including BNP Paribas and Citigroup.

The bank opened the services in Beijing to target high-net-worth individuals with liquid assets over US$1 million as potential clients.

The private banking business is one of the main reasons foreign banks want to locally incorporate in China, a status that allows them to offer unlimited retail yuan services to Chinese.

Banks that don't locally incorporate in China can only accept term deposits of more than one million yuan (US$131,234), restricting their pool of clients.

Overseas financial players, including Citibank, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas, have already launched private banking in Shanghai, while domestic banks like Bank of China have followed suit.

Chinese lenders, including Bank of Communications, China Citic Bank and China Merchants Bank, have also shown an interest in the market sector.

However, other players, including European bank Fortis, have no plans to locally incorporate in China. The bank will focus on energy, commodities, transport and carbon banking in China as a niche player, said its Asia Pacific Chief Executive Officer Luc Henrard yesterday in Shanghai.

There are 320,000 people on the Chinese mainland with a net worth of at least US$1 million.