QINGDAO: While only in Qin- gdao for the past two months, General  Manager  of  Shinhan Bank`s local branch Sung Kuk- Jae  has  grown  accustomed  to the lifestyle thanks to weather not  unlike  that  in  his  home- town in the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Sung`s  branch  was  rated Shinhan  Bank`s  best  foreign- based   local   office   by   the bank`s  Korean  headquarters last year.

"Qingdao is one of the most economically dynamic cities in China," Sung told China Daily.

"Its advanced infrastructure and  fast-growing  economy draws  attention  from  home and abroad.

"We are confident in invest- ing in Qingdao for its favorable investment environment."

As the first city in the prov- ince to open RMB operations to foreign  banks,  Qingdao  now boasts  the  highest  concentra- tion in Shandong.

Currently  eight  interna- tional  banks  including  HSBC, Standard  Chartered  Bank, Yamaguchi Bank and Qingdao International    Bank    have branches in the city.

Qingdao  boasts  the  seventh highest  number  of  foreign banks  of  all  Chinese  cities following  Shanghai,  Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Xiamen.

This  year  leading  Italian bank  Intesa  Sanpaolo  SpA bought 19.99 percent of Qingdao City  Commercial  Bank  for  $1 billion.

Intesa Sanpaolo, which paid 2.6 yuan per share, is the latest foreign bank to enter Qingdao by acquiring holdings.

"ROK has become the largest importer and the third largest export  market  of  Qingdao," Sung said.

"By  the  end  of  June  2007,6,000  Korean  companies  had set up operations in Qingdao."

At  present,  Shinhan  Bank`s Qingdao  branch  offers  serv-ices such as foreign exchange deposits, loans and remittance to Korean enterprises, Qingdaolocals  and  people  from  sur- rounding areas.

Competition   among   the banking industry continues to heat up in the city.

HSBC  has  more  than  100 ATM  machines  in  15  cities across China and 10,000 inter- national  institutions  covering 83 countries and regions.

The Bank of East Asia (BEA) is  another  with  a  presence  in Qingdao  and  which  boasts  di- versified financial products.

"It  is  our  advantage,"  BEA Qingdao  branch  general  man- ager Liang Zhiwei said.

"Every    month    we    will launch  several  new  financial products."

The  influx  of  foreign  banks will only spur healthy competi- tion in Qingdao`s financial in- dustry  and  diversify  financial products  to  ultimately  attract more foreign investment.