SHANGHAI: BMO Financial Group, one of Canada's largest financial conglomerates, will look to China as its future growth engine, its top management said.

"We really believe the future of BMO is in China," said Tony Comper, BMO's president and chief executive officer.

"China is extremely important for the financial services sector in Canada to the point it is important to the entire country of Canada," the CEO said.

The bank, he said, has made "significant investments" in China over the past two decades and will continue to do so in the future.

"We have significant investments in China and our business operation is big and growing rapidly," said Comper, who is in Shanghai attending his bank's board of directors meeting.

But the CEO declined to reveal the specific numbers.

BMO, Canada's fifth-biggest bank by assets, will focus its China business on wholesale and investment banking, Comper said.

"We will focus on several things such as helping Canadian or North American firms expand their businesses in China and provide them with trade finance and other financial services," the CEO said.

In addition to underwriting initial public offerings (IPOs), its investment banking business in China will focus on mergers and acquisitions to help firms expand overseas, according to Comper, who is to retire from the post in April.

BMO opened an office for investment banking operations in Beijing last November.

It was one of several global advisers that helped Bank of China's $11.2 billion IPO last year.

It was also involved in China Merchants Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's IPOs.

The bank currently has two branches in China one in Beijing and another in Guangzhou and a representative office in Shanghai, which Comper hopes will grow into a full branch office.

BMO is not actively seeking to make equity investments in Chinese commercial banks as "retail banking is not our priority in China", the CEO said, adding that the company would not seek to be incorporated locally.

According to Chinese banking rules, locally incorporated foreign banks are able to offer a full range of local currency retail business, while branches will have restricted business scope.

The Canadian bank currently has a 28 percent stake in a local fund company, Fullgoal, which is also 28 percent owned by China's leading securities firms Haitong and Shenyin & Wanguo.

The Canadian bank held its board of directors meeting in Shanghai on Tuesday, the second time that such a meeting was convened in China, with the first one held 10 years ago.