NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) --

Citigroup

(C) - Get Report

plans to open four retail branches in Japan in 2010, a report says.

The first two locations will open in the second quarter in the central Tokyo districts of Marunouchi and Nihonbashi, Citibank Japan said, the

Associated Press

reports.

Citigroup's move would mark its first expansion in Japan since selling several of its Japanese finance businesses last year to pay back bailout money it received from the U.S. government.

In July, Citigroup reached an agreement to sell its

asset management

operations in Japan to

Sumitomo Trust and Banking

in a deal valued at about $1.26 billion. It also reached a deal the same month to sell NikkoCiti Trust and Banking Corp. to

Nomura

(NMR) - Get Report

. In May, Citigroup agreed to sell Japanese brokerage Nikko Cordial.

The new branches would add to Citibank's current 31 branches,

AP

says.

Citigroup will use the four new locations to experiment with smart banking services that incorporate "new concepts and technology," the bank said,

AP

reports.

Citigroup still operates the largest foreign-owned retail bank in Japan,

AP

notes.

-- Written by Joseph Woelfel in New York.

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