Like everything relating to India and China, HDFC Bank's (NYSE:HDB) growth has been on a tear. And since only a small fraction of India's 1.1 billion citizens use banks, there's a lot of room left for things to get even better.

For the period from April through June, the Indian banking company's results clocked in more than 32% above last year's. HDFC earned 10 rupees per Indian share, up from 7.6 rupees during last year's comparable period. With each HDFC American depositary receipt being equivalent to three shares, that means HDFC earned 30 rupees, or $0.75 a share, per ADR during the period. (One American dollar is equivalent to about 40 rupees.)

Total customer assets grew from about 4.51 billion rupees (about $6.2 billion) to approximately 5.91 billion rupees (about $8.1 billion), a staggering increase of nearly 30%. Deposits grew by more than 34%, and it added 69 branches, for a total of 753 outlets.

Aside from the minor participation of financial behemoths such as Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), HDFC basically shares the banking market with the Bank of India and U.S.-traded ICICI Bank (NYSE:IBN), which is posting phenomenal growth of its own. That's good news in a largely untapped market, where HDFC already has issued more than 4.3 million debit cards and 3 million credit cards -- sizable numbers, yet they only scratch the surface in a nation of 1.1 billion.

Given the potential growth opportunity for banking in India alone, it's easy to see why HDFC has been garnering a lot of attention. Unfortunately, that attention and growth come at a high price. HDFC currently trades for more than 30 times earnings per ADR, while ICICI fetches a similarly rich 33 times earnings.

Yet if you believe in India's economic rise, you might believe that such rich multiples are justifiable. With HDFC's revenues and earnings growing at more than 30%, you'll pay about 1 times growth for a country with more than 3 times the population of the United States. In other words, Fools shouldn't let HDFC's seemingly rich valuation scare them off from doing further due diligence.

Other Foolishness:

Motley Fool Global Gains lead analyst Bill Mann recently visited India and China in search of market-beating opportunities. To find out what stocks Bill is recommending to his subscribers right now, check out an all-access 30-day free trial to the Global Gains newsletter service.

Fool contributor Sham Gad has no stake in the companies mentioned. Bank of America is an Income Investor recommendation. The Fool has a disclosure policy.