Citigroup Inc's Indian American chief executive Vikram Pandit says he hopes to continue expanding the bank's business in the two biggest engines of growth in Asia, China and India, despite tough local restrictions.

The bank wouldn't retreat from fast-growing Asian businesses even as the financial crisis has forced it to shrink its balance sheet by about 25 per cent, he told Wall Street Journal in an interview at Citigroup's Hong Kong headquarters on Monday.