THE Chinese arm of Standard Chartered Bank rolled out its new mutual fund distribution business on the Chinese mainland this week to extend product offerings for local customers.

The British bank was one of the eight overseas banks that received the green light from China's securities regulator earlier this month to start the new business. About 90 percent of its 101 outlets on the mainland have launched the new business, said the bank.

Standard Chartered is cooperating with domestic fund management companies such as China Asset Management, E Fund, China Southern, Bosera Asset Management, Guangfa Fund Management, China Universal Asset Management and Bank of Communications Schroder Fund to offer products including stock, bond, money and hybrid funds.

According to a statement by Standard Chartered this week, it began to prepare for domestic fund sales as early as in 2008, which adds proof to foreign lenders' large appetite for the lucrative and growing retail investment market in China.

"Domestic mutual fund offers our customers access to the China stock market and is an important investment channel," said William Wong, general manager of wealth management and priority and international banking at Standard Chartered China. "We will consider offering our customers discretionary accounts with more customizations on products and services, and more convenient selling channels including online platform."

Prior to the receipt of mutual fund distribution license, foreign banks in China had restricted access to the retail fund market. They were only allowed to sell Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) funds to Chinese institutional clients that invest in offshore stock and bond markets.

To further extend its product offerings to retail customers on the mainland, Standard Chartered may launch its sole-brand credit card business before the end of this year, according to a bank source.

Citibank was the first Western bank to launch sole-brand credit cards on the mainland. HSBC has a co-brand credit card business with the Bank of Communications, China's fifth-biggest lender.