State Bank of India (SBI), India's largest commercial bank, announced that its new branch in Shanghai opened for business on Thursday.

SBI Shanghai Branch is currently the only Indian bank operating on the Chinese mainland.

At the moment, the new branch can only cater to Indian companies and individuals in China, says OM Prakash Bhatt, SBI Chairman.

Bhatt, who made a special trip to Shanghai for the occasion, promised to open more commercial branches in China in the future and hoped that the Shanghai branch would be allowed to expand and to do business with Chinese companies and individuals.

A growing number of Indian citizens have started doing business in China in recent years. Most Indian businesses, ranging from pharmaceuticals and car parts to IT and engineering projects, are based on China's southeastern coast.

Bilateral trade between India and China was 18 billion U.S. dollars last year and reached 11.05 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2006.

SBI established a representative office in Shanghai in 1997.

Source:Xinhua