The total assets of foreign banks in Shanghai, China's economic hub, have risen to US$60 billion, an official said on Tuesday.

The total assets of foreign banks in Shanghai have grown by 31 percent annually over the past five years, said Fang Haixing, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Office of Finance Service. They now total more than US$60 billion, making up 14.2 percent of the Shanghai banking sector, up from 13.1 percent in 2005.

Foreign banks had set up 94 business branches in Shanghai by the end of last October, almost double the number five years ago, the official said.

Fang expected the total assets of foreign banks to account for 20-30 percent of Shanghai's banking sector in the future.

Foreign insurance companies also did well last year, garnering 7.03 billion yuan (US$899 million) in insurance premiums in the January to November period between them, up 34.8 percent year-on-year.

(Xinhua News Agency January 10, 2007)