Bank of China (stock code: 601988) has opened its first branch in the Netherlands, the official Xinhua news agency reported, marking the latest in a series of overseas forays by Chinese banks.

Xinhua quoted Zhang Yanling, a vice president of the Chinese state-owned bank, as saying that the branch in Rotterdam would mainly serve Chinese clients in the Netherlands as well as Dutch companies doing business with China.

Bank of China is the country's fourth-biggest bank ranked by assets. The branch formally opened on Monday.

China's major lenders are cautiously expanding overseas now that they have reduced their bad loans and beefed up their capital through stock market listings.

China Construction Bank said this month it had won regulatory approval to set up branches in Vietnam and would soon open in Australia.