Citigroup Inc plans to double personnel in China to 10,000 over three years to better support Japanese companies moving into the country, the business daily Nikkei reported.

The company plans to tap demand among firms including Toyota Motor Corp, Sony Corp and Toshiba Corp, by assisting their expansion into overseas markets, Stephen Bird, chief executive, Citi Asia Pacific, told the Nikkei.

Citigroup has been unloading noncore businesses to rebuild its operations since the financial crisis, according to the daily.

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It sold some $2 billion, or roughly 166 billion yen, in stocks and real estate in Japan over the past year, the daily said.

The bank currently has offices for supporting Japanese firms in nine countries, including China and India, and it plans to establish locations in the United Arab Emirates and the Czech Republic next year, the Nikkei reported.

Citigroup has positioned Asia as a strategic market, having already doubled offices in Hong Kong to 50 and increased locations in Taiwan from 11 to 65, according to the Nikkei report.

Citigroup also intends to set up offices outside China to support the overseas operations of Chinese companies, the daily reported.