Singapore's biggest bank, DBS, expressed plans to launch eight new branches on the Chinese mainland this year, and expects to have 50 mainland branches by 2013.

The eight new branches will be based in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, while the bank will also double its number of employees on the mainland to 2,000.

According to Seah Lim Huat, chairman and of DBS Bank China, the bank's operations on the Chinese mainland saw a net profit of 260 million yuan ($39 million) last year, which is a small proportion of the group's overall annual income.