Citi has hired a Goldman Sachs private banker to head up its China private banking business, Reuters reports.

The hire of Rudolf Hitsch, a senior member of Goldman’s China wealth team, demonstrates how Citi Private Bank Asia is building out its offshore China private banking business, according to an internal memo seen by the publication.

The chief executive of Citi Private Bank Asia Pacific is Aamir Rahim.

The note reportedly said that, due to China’s fast-paced economic growth, Citi sees considerable opportunities in helping China-based entrepreneurs manage their assets offshore.

The Asia Pacific region is expected to overtake both the US and Europe in terms of numbers of high net worth individuals by the end of 2011, and so understandably Western banks are very keen to expand there.

Citi is already one of the largest wealth managers in the Asia Pacific region, with over 500,000 clients in the high net worth and ultra high net worth space. However, both it and Goldman Sachs face intense competition from Western and Asian firms.