Citi, the world's largest bank in terms of customers and branches, has opened its third rural lending company in Wafangdian, 100 km north of Dalian, in Liaoning province.

With a registered capital of 17 million yuan, Dalian Wafangdian Citi Lending Co Ltd will offer both secured and unsecured loans to the local population, said Andrew Au, chief executive officer of Citi China.

Its target clients include individual borrowers, the self-employed and micro-enterprises. Available loans will range from 30,000 yuan to 800,000 yuan, said Au.

"We see significant credit demand driven by local economic growth and intend to build a commercially sustainable business here," said Au. "With our new establishment here, we can give the residents a new financing option which will result in a winning proposition for our clients and Citi alike."

Wafangdian, with a population of 1.03 million, is famous for ballbearing manufacturing and has rich agricultural and mining resources and has demonstrated robust commercial and industrial development.

"Citi's presence here will certainly influence the financial situation of the local economy," said Dai Yulin, vice-mayor of Dalian.

Citi was the first international bank to launch the lending company model in China. In addition to Wafangdian, Citi has operated two lending companies in the towns of Gong'an and Chibi in Hubei province.

"China remains one of Citi's highest priority markets around the world, and we will continue our presence here across multiple lines of business," said Stephen Bird, chief executive officer of Citi Asia Pacific.