BNP Paribas’s presence in China dates back to 1860 when it opened its first office in Shanghai. Since then, the Bank has almost had an uninterrupted presence in the country.


In April 2008, BNP Paribas secured the approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission for converting the branches of BNP Paribas in Beijing, Tianjin and Guangzhou into branches of its existing subsidiary, BNP Paribas (China) Limited, which is headquartered in Shanghai. This conversion project gives BNP Paribas the flexibility to conduct the full range of banking business with all classes of customers in China. BNP Paribas Shanghai branch is a foreign-currency wholesale branch under the BNP Paribas Group. BNP Paribas (China) Limited and its branches officially started commercial operations on 1 July 2008.


BNP Paribas also has strong ambitions for its development in mainland China and enjoys prominent positions in corporate and investment banking as well as asset management and services. The Bank was amongst the first foreign banks to establish a joint venture in China with the establishment of SYWG BNP Paribas Asset Management Co. Ltd in 2003.


In October 2005, BNP Paribas acquired a 19.2 per cent stake in Bank of Nanjing (BON), which has been diluted to 12.6 per cent stake following BON’s initial public offering in July 2007. The partnership with BON includes a range of business activities, building on BON's knowledge and distribution strength of the local market, and BNP Paribas’s product skills in areas including retail banking, credit cards, wealth management and corporate banking.