Mumbai: Bank of Baroda has 61 overseas offices spread over 17 countries comprising 38 overseas branches including 3 Offshore Banking Units and one mobile agency, 6 overseas subsidiaries and one joint venture.

The growing Indo-China relations, economic co-operation and trade are leading many Indian companies to establish their presence in commercial cities of People''s Republic of China. The trade volume in 2003-04 has increased by 54 per cent to US$ 7.597 billion.

As a part of its business strategy, the bank is entering China with a representative office in Guangzhou, People''s Republic of China on 28^th June 2004.

Guangzhou is on the coast of the South China Sea and 182 kilometers away from Hong Kong. It is China''s largest and most prosperous city in the south, an important seaport for foreign trade and a famous historical and cultural city over 2,000 years old.

It hosts annual spring and autumn exports trade fairs. Guangzhou is a center of commerce, finance, communication, science and technology in South China. The volume of foreign trade is above US$ 23 billion. Guangzhou products are exported to more than 190 countries with Asian region accounting for 53% of exports. The per capita GDP of Guangzhou is highest among the 10 biggest cities in China.

Bank is also going to open a representative office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and fully owned subsidiary in Tanzania in the next few months.

Bank has received approvals from Reserve Bank of India for opening offshore banking unit in Singapore, representative office in Bangkok, Thailand and a branch in Houston, Texas in USA. Necessary steps are being initiated to open these offices as early as possible, after obtaining necessary statutory regulatory approvals from the concerned authorities in these countries.