Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Silicon Valley Bank will start operating their joint venture bank in China in July at the earliest, the China Bank Regulatory Commission said.

The Shanghai office of the agency did not provide detailed information about the opening date.

"The branch will open in next few months. In an optimistic situation, it will open in July," said a spokesman at the CBRC.

The joint venture bank, in which both companies have a 50 percent stake, was established to provide financial support to small-and-medium sized technology companies in China. It's the first bank focusing on technology companies in China. The investment capital is 1 billion yuan ($158 million).

The CBRC approved the establishment of the bank in Oct 2011.

The bank will not launch retail businesses in the first three years after the formal launch and is projected to be a regional bank, according to the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post.

tangzhihao@chinadaily.com.cn