Bank of Communications (BoCom) has made a bid to acquire 85 percent of a once nearly bankrupt trust firm in Central China's Hubei Province.

The move is part of the bank's attempt to diversify into the institutional fund management business.

BoCom, 18.6 percent owned by HSBC Holdings Plc, has agreed to pay a maximum of 1.22 billion yuan for the stake in Hubei International Trust & Investment Co, to be renamed Bank of Communications International Trust & Investment Co, the Shanghai-headquartered bank said yesterday in a statement to the local securities exchange.

The deal, pending regulatory approval, is part of a rush by major domestic banks to expand their business scope and fend off competition from overseas lenders who gained local status after the full opening of the financial sector late last year.

Analysts expect more trust companies to be taken over by banks, either domestic or overseas, as Chinese commercial lenders transform into financial holding companies.

"The investment will be achieved by raising capital through stake transfers and floating more shares," the Shanghai and Hong Kong-listed bank said in the statement.

Peng Chun, the bank's vice-president, said at a press conference on Wednesday that the bank intends to open more overseas branches and engage in outbound takeovers. A branch in Frankfurt, Germany, will be opened later this year. Another will be opened in Macao.

Dicky Yip, BoCom's executive vice-president, said the lender is preparing to expand into the private banking sector.

The bank has already established a wealth management department, targeting clients with assets of at least 500,000 yuan.

"We already have customers that can meet the private banking service level within our current customer base," Yip said.

The bank also aims to enter into brokerage and insurance operations with partner HSBC.

After raising 3.3 billion dollars in a Shanghai listing earlier this year, BoCom reported on Wednesday that it generated a 31 percent year-on-year profit jump in the first quarter on a surge in lending and fee-based income.

Hubei Trust, re-founded in 2003 with 1.2 billion yuan of registered capital, had its 2.06 billion yuan of debts bailed out by the government at the end of last year.

It was one of 54 trust firms on the mainland that managed combined assets of 317.8 billion yuan by September 2006, a fraction of the financial industry's total assets.