The headquarters of the China Merchants Bank in Shenzhen stands out not just because of its height (54 floors) but also for the helipad on the roof - unusual in China.

Foresight is an essential reason behind CMB's having overtaken its counterparts in recent years. Although its total assets of US$60 billion amount to less than a tenth of the ICBC's US$640 billion as of end 2003, CMB's competitiveness for attracting high-profile clients is second to none in China. In the Entrepreneurs Lifestyle Survey, CMB came top of two categories: Best Bank for RMB Services and Best Credit Card Issuing Bank.

Liu Jianjun, General Manager of CMB's personal banking, is happy with the survey's result, which he said was "not contrary to my expectation." Prior to 2002, CMB was offering a bit of everything to everyone, but it has now started to put more resources into high-end clients. According to Liu, 50% of the bank's profits stem from just 1% of its customers.

CMB has done its utmost to aim its marketing at rich customers. Salespeople at CMB have visited nearly every top office building in Shanghai. Lu Fang, a senior manager in a multinational corporation in Shanghai, was impressed by the bank's active selling technique: "A lot of my friends and I joined CMB after their salespeople gave us face to face introductions. Other domestic banks just set up information stands in public places. They are not as proactive as CMB."

For many of China's richest, what they want is simplicity. "I like CMB's service, and find the credit card to be all I need. I do not need a professional wealth manager," says Ding Lei, CEO of Nasdaq-listed NetEase, and Number One on the EuromoneyChina 2003 China Rich List.

"CMB was the earliest bank to absorb a market culture and keeps encouraging innovation," explains Liu Jianjun. "CMB has at least three distinct advantages: product design, service level, and sales competence in personal banking."

Advanced technology along with a strong R&D, are two other CMB advantages. Its online banking services have been particularly successful.

"I recently spent Rmb 10,000 using my CMB credit card, only to have the bank call me to check the authenticity of the transaction as soon as money was transferred. I wasn't expecting this, and it made me feel at ease," said Yang Huiqing, Head of Shanghai-based Sinomonitor Market Research. Yang has both a CMB Gold Card and its all-in-one-card. "Whenever my credit card's payment date becomes due, CMB will transfer the money automatically from my all-in-one card as long as there is sufficient balance. I leave it all to them."

CMB created its credit card centre in Shanghai in 2002. It was by no means the first bank to set up such a centre, but it has proved a highly successful starting point. The dual currency card, which allows transactions in Rmb and one other specified foreign currency, and even has limited use overseas, has attracted many high-profile customers who travel abroad a lot. CMB issued 600,000 credit cards in its first year, creating a card issuing record in the Asia-Pacific region. Today CMB has issued nearly two million credit cards.

CMB is now focusing more on retail banking and wealth management. Competition among banks will be even fiercer once the financial sector opens according to the WTO by 2007. CMB, however, is adamant that it will keep on changing to meet its customers needs.