China private banks won't kill the offshore wealth business just yet

CHINA Merchants Bank has declared its ambition to be Asia's largest private bank, with the bank in April expanding its offshore wealth-management presence in Singapore.

But behind that battle cry are growing pains that Chinese private banks entering offshore markets would have to go through, which should keep the rest of the competition largely unscathed, for now.

While China Merchants Bank has a burgeoning asset base - with the bank already managing about US$…