NAIROBI, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's CFC Stanbic Bank plans to expand its trading facility for the yuan in order to meet the growing demand for the Chinese currency.

CFC Stanbic Bank Chief Executive Philip Odera told Xinhua on Friday that the growing volumes of Sino-Kenyan trade was fueling the demand for yuan.

"We are looking to expand the holding of yuan currency notes which will be available in all branches by the end of the month," Odera said as the bank released a statement on its financial performance for the half year period ending June this year.

Odera said that having the physical currency in Kenya would reduce exchange rate losses incurred by international traders.

"Previously, the business community trading with China had to take the Kenyan shilling and convert it to the U.S. dollar which is then converted to the Chinese yuan," he said.

The CFC Stanbic Bank is headquartered in the Kenyan capital Nairobi with branches in Kenya and South Sudan.

In the financial statement, the bank says it plans to convert its branch in South Sudan into a subsidiary in order to improve operations efficiency.

The bank also reveals that it made a pre-tax profit of 28 million U.S. dollars for the six month ending June, a 27 percent decrease from a year ago, which is blamed on increased expenses and the conflict in South Sudan.