ANZ Banking Group Ltd is pursuing chief executive Mike Smith’s Asia-Pacific super-regional bank strategy by opening its first rural branch in western China.

The move is the first by an Australian bank and one of the first by any non-Chinese bank, Melbourne-based ANZ said in a statement on Monday.

ANZ opened its wholly-owned subsidiary, Chongqing Liangping ANZ Rural Bank Co Ltd, and is working toward obtaining Chinese incorporation in early 2010, which would enable it to provide a broad range of services to local customers and expand its branch network.

That would help cement ANZ’s position as generating the highest revenue from Asia of all Australian banks.

“Establishing a rural bank is a further demonstration of our commitment to contributing to the economic development of China and to investing to become a top four foreign bank in this strategically important market,” Mr Smith said in the statement.

“We are very pleased to have received China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) support to open ANZ’s first rural bank in Liangping.”

The Liangping branch will add to the branches ANZ already has in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, as well as its 19.9 per cent stake in the Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank and 20 per cent holding in Bank of Tianjin.

Chongqing municipality, with a population of 31.4 million, is about 1000 km West of Shanghai and is one of China’s largest population centres.

ANZ said Liangping county had a population of 900,000, of whom 89 per cent were rural residents, and for whom the bank initially would provide rural deposit and loan products.

The county’s GDP grew more than 15 per cent in 2008, ANZ said.

Further products would be launched as the business grew, ANZ said.

Shares in ANZ had lost one cent to $23.78 as of 1110 AEST, from Friday’s close at an almost 18-month high $23.79.

AAP