BoCom wants to branch into insurance, securities

BEIJING, July 28 (Reuters) - China's Bank of Communications hopes to expand into securities and insurance this year as part of its strategy for moving beyond bread-and-butter banking, a senior official with China's fifth-largest lender said on Monday.

At home, BoCom (601328.SS) (3328.HK) has already entered the trust, fund management and leasing sectors, while overseas it has branched into insurance and investment banking, Vice-President Qian Wenhui told a news conference.

"We hope to make initial investments in the domestic securities and insurance sectors this year, as long as we can get regulatory approval," he said.

BoCom first announced in March it had applied for regulatory approval to buy a controlling stake in an insurer.

It said at the time that it hoped to get the go-ahead in the first half of the year. (Reporting by Jason Subler; Editing by Alan Wheatley)