South Korean lenders are reaching out to wealthy Chinese customers as they seek new growth engines amid ultra-low interest rates and lackluster demand on their home turf.

Local banks have been providing Chinese-language banking services to mostly blue-collar laborers in southwest Seoul.

However, recent moves highlight their efforts to tap affluent Chinese who have already emerged as a major force in the retail sector.

Woori Bank, the flagship unit of the nation’s biggest banking group, said Tuesday it has opened a section solely dedicated to Chinese customers at one of its branches on Jejudo Island.

More than 1.8 million Chinese visited the volcanic holiday island in 2013 for tours and business, compared with 1.1 million the previous year, according to the Jeju provincial government.

Bank officials explained that the new service, provided in Chinese, offers consulting services on investment and wealth management to upscale customers flocking from the world’s second-largest economy. (Yonhap)