Westpac Bank gets green light for Beijing branch

Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.ASX, WBC.NZX), Australia’s second-largest lender by value, announced Tuesday that it received final approval to open a branch in Beijing, its second location in China, Dow Jones reported. Westpac, which opened its first Chinese branch in Shanghai in 2008, said it plans to open two additional branches in the country. The bank said in a statement that it plans to support a growing number of corporate, institutional and private bank customers in China and help its key clients conduct cross-border business. “China is a strategically important market for our customers. We are committed to investing in the region and ‘growing offshore to grow onshore,'” said Rob Whitfield, group executive of Westpac’s institutional bank.