CITS American Express is the only travel management company to have received all the necessary licenses to offer travel management services and to issue both domestic and international air tickets in the Beijing and Shanghai.

The company also announced the appointment of Yam Goh to the newly created position of head of Corporate Travel, China. Currently, Goh is General Manager of CITS American Express Travel Services Ltd, the company's joint venture. In his new capacity, Goh will oversee the growing corporate travel sector for American Express' business travel operations in China.

Goh's appointment represents another step towards American Express' commitment to the corporate travel market in China. Since establishing the first corporate travel joint venture in China the company is now servicing over 30 multinational and local corporations operating in China, including Ford, AT&T, SAP, McDonalds, British American Tobacco, Budweiser, Corning, Veritas, Halliburton, China Netcom Corporation, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Charles Petruccelli, president, Global Travel Services, American Express commented, “Despite the currently turbulent global economy, China stands out as one of the few economies to witness strong and steady growth, and demand from corporations to manage their corporate travel services has increased significantly. We estimate that the T&E market in China is worth $10 billion annually, of which $4 to $5 billion is business travel expenses. We believe this market will continue to enjoy double-digit growth annually in the next five years.

“In addition, according to a recent study conducted by American Express on global travel trends, 35 percent of the respondents in China expected an increase in the level of their business travel this year,” Mr. Petruccelli added. “We anticipate a heightened need in China for the global purchasing savings and process savings, along with local market expertise American Express is uniquely prepared to deliver.”

Petruccelli added, “I am delighted with our progress in China, and our unique ability to service both multinational and local companies who travel to and from the region. Today, we received the necessary licenses to set up a business travel center in Guangzhou and we plan to open that office in February.”

CITS American Express Travel Services Limited in Beijing and CITS American Express Air Services Limited in Shanghai provide business travel management services to clients from multinational corporations, regional companies, and domestic companies. These include handling international and domestic flight reservations and ticketing, hotel reservations, convention services and other land arrangements.

American Express is the world's largest travel management company with more than 1,700 Travel Service locations worldwide in over 130 countries. Through its Corporate Services group, the company counts over 70 percent of the Fortune 500 companies in the U.S., along with tens of thousands of mid-sized companies, as customers of its Corporate Travel, Corporate Card and Corporate Purchasing Card. Click here for more information about American Express Corporate Services.

American Express Company is a diversified worldwide travel, financial and network services company founded in 1850. It is a world leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, financial planning, business services, insurance and international banking.