China Merchants Bank focuses on SMEs

China Merchants Bank Co<600036><3968>, the nation's sixth-largest commercial bank, will focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) businesses this year, said an official with the bank on Tuesday.

SME clients accounted for 78.9% of the Shenzhen-based bank's corporate clients in 2007, with total loans to SMEs taking up 45% of the lender's total corporate lending. The outstanding loans to SMEs were RMB 189.5 billion (US$26.9 billion) as of the end of last year.

The Shenzhen-based bank has embarked on expanding the lending to SMEs, with an aim to boost its total lending growth to 11.4% this year.