The State Bank of India (SBI), which enjoys the largest overseas presence among local lenders, is in the advanced stages of opening 23 more branches abroad over the next four months, a top SBI official said.

This will take the total number of SBI branches in foreign countries to 160 by March, from 137 presently, enabling the lender to consolidate its position as a financial services conglomerate in the global landscape.

SBI currently derives around 12% of its total revenue from the overseas business.

"Moving to newer markets is critical for SBI in the backdrop of India's increasing integration to the rest of the world. We will increase our overseas presence to around 160 branches by March," the official said.

The banking giant plans to open 10-11 new branches in Nepal â€“ the country where SBI has the largest foreign presence, by March. This will take its total branch-strength in Nepal to 48 from 37 now.

In Washington, where SBI already have a representative office, the bank plans to open one branch shortly that will undertake a mix of business activities, including retail banking, the official said.

"The Washington branch will be a full service branch, that will offer all types of banking services to all class of customers, including retail banking," the official said.

SBI chairman, OP Bhatt, while receiving a UK delegation in September, said that the bank would set up an administrative office in UK by the end of this fiscal, which will act as a centre to control its European operations.

State Bank plan to open over 40 new offices globally in the next one year, including five new offices in UK, Bhatt had said. Presently, SBI has seven branches in UK.

Out of the targeted five, the bank expects to open three before March, the official said.

Similarly, the bank is also looking at to set up one more branch in South Africa by the end of this fiscal, which would take the total number of offices in that country to four.

"With major world economies coming out of recession, there is a significant revival seen in the business confidence in world markets. This would help the banking industry to find new business opportunities," the official said.

The banking major also aims to expand operations in Maldives and Mauritius by strengthening its physical presence.

It aims to open three branches each in both markets by March, the official said.

In Doha Qatar Financial Centre, SBI plans to open a full service branch by end FY'10 and is currently awaiting the regulatory approvals, to go ahead with the proposal.

Other leading Indian banks having presence abroad include Bank of Baroda, which has 76 branches in 25 countries, Bank of India (29 branches) and ICICI Bank.