State-owned Bank of China is set to expand to India by opening its first branch in Mumbai following the receipt of security clearances.

The bank is expected to soon receive notification from the Reserve Bank of India, the central bank of the country, reported Telegraphindia.com.

The decision to allow Bank of China to foray into the Indian market was taken at the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

Bank of China will be the second Chinese bank to commence operations in India after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), which too has its sole branch in Mumbai.

Bank of China, which was founded in 1912, has a market capitalisation of nearly $158.6bn.

Till 1942, it used to issue currency in the country on behalf of the government.

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The Chinese bank applied for security clearance to operate in India in July 2016. The delay in issuing clearance is primarily attributed to the owner issues of the Bank of China.

Multiple Indian banks such as the State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have branches in China.

SBI has two foreign branches in the country, while other entities have one branch each.