Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with words financial+plans. 3 news.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rallied on Monday, led by financial companies, after Merrill Lynch (MER.N) took steps to shore up its balance sheet with plans to raise up to $6.2 billion and sell a lending unit.

NANYANG Commercial Bank plans to at least double its network on the Chinese mainland in two years after it opened its local incorporation today. Nanyang Commercial Bank (China) Ltd opened in Shanghai yesterday to offer unlimited yuan services to Chinese. The Hong Kong-based bank gained approval to set up the local incorporation with a registered capital of 2.5 billion yuan (US$341 million) from the China Banking Regulatory Commission on December 4. Nanyang Commercial Bank has six branches and one sub-branch on the Chinese mainland in Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dalian, Haikou and Shanghai. "Network expansion is a key part of the local incorporation's business development," the bank said. The bank will first focus on major cities in the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and the coastal area. It will also seek other opportunities in other areas. The bank will focus on personal financial planning products and services in retail banking. In corporate banking,

Saudi Arabia plans to establish a sovereign wealth fund that may exceed US$900 billion, which would likely be the largest in the world, the Financial Times reported on its Web site without naming sources.