Bank of Baroda will complete 50 years of operations in African nations, Kenya and Uganda, in December, even as it plans to foray into China and Malaysia.

This is part of the bank's target to increase the share of profit from its overseas business to 25 per cent in the next two years, from 20 per cent in the last fiscal, A K Khandelwal, executive director, BoB, told PTI in New Delhi on Thursday.

Bank of Baroda topped the list among banks in terms of profits from overseas business in the last fiscal, netting Rs 149 crore (Rs 1.49 billion) or $31.95 million.

BoB's overall net profit was Rs 772 crore (Rs 7.72 billion) in 2002-03.

The bank's overseas profits increased by over 36 per cent last fiscal, from $23.40 million in 2001-02. In 2000-01, it was $32.65 million.   

The overall profit of eight PSU banks stood at $45.68 million in 2002-03, compared to $34.30 million in 2001-02 and $140.33 million in 2000-01.

In terms of profits from the overseas operations, BoB outsmarted other major banks like State Bank of India with $12.23 million, Bank of India ($18.64 million), Syndicate Bank ($0.55 million), Canara Bank ($0.37 million).

Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank and UCO Bank suffered losses from their overseas operations in the last fiscal.

BoB now plans to open representative offices in China and Malaysia. It also plans to open another branch in the United States, Khandelwal said.

Referring to its strongholds in Africa, Khandelwal said the bank will celebrate the golden jubilee of its operations in Kenya and Uganda in December.

BoB also plans to convert its branch in Tanzania into a subsidiary after three months, for which it has obtained permission from the Reserve Bank of India.

BoB also has a presence in South Africa and Botswana. In Zambia, the bank has a joint venture with Bank of India and Central Bank of India.