Bank of China opened a privatebanking service in Beijing andShanghai，the first local bankto target the growing ranks of the superrich in China．

The service is only for customerswith over US$1 million to invest and isa joint project with its partner the RoyalBank of Scotland(RBS)，which ownsabout 4.4% of the Chinese bank．

\"The thing that excites us is justthe size of the marketplace.\"said FredGoodwin．chief executive of the RBS．

China was home to 320.000millionaires in 2005，according to areport by capgemini and Merrill Lynch．

The total assets held by this grouptopped US$1.59 trillion at the time，ranking China No 2 in the Asia-Pacificregion after Japan．

That number is bound to increaserapidly given the country's continuingeconomic boom，said Li Lihui，presidentof Bank of China．

The private banking business wouldoperate under Bank of China's nameto start with．but Goodwin said thebranding may change overtime．

Initially．the businesswill offer 12 productsincluding foreign exchange，subscriptions to initial publicofferings and private equity，said Yue Yi，general manrdgerof personal banking at Bankof China．

Bank of China's privateclient customer base．combined with the experienceof RBS in intemational private banking，gives it an unrivalled position for thebusiness．Goodwin said．

Foreign banks such as BNPParmas．Citbank and Deutsche Bankhave already begun private-bankingoperations in China．