FUZHOU - Philippine Metrobank will open a new branch in the city of Quanzhou in east China's Fujian province, a provincial government official said Monday.

The branch has been approved by China's regulatory authorities and the bank's staff are currently looking for an office, said Wang Qizhen, director of the Fujian branch of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

The branch is expected to improve banking services in Quanzhou and boost local economic development, he said.

Metrobank is the largest bank in the Philippines and the flagship company of the Metrobank Group. Metrobank (China), headquartered in the city of Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu province, was launched in April 2010 and specializes in providing lending services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

It currently operates one branch in Nanjing, one in Changzhou and two in Shanghai.