HSBC to expand further
By Wang Zhenghua (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-08-31 09:17
HANGZHOU: Europe's biggest bank HSBC is seeking to expand its network in
China with no upper investment limit, its chairman said.
Vincent Cheng
said he had confidence in China and the bank would "abide by the regulations"
which could require foreign lenders to locally incorporate their business in
order to provide renminbi services to individual customers.
"We believe
the country's economy will run well and on track, and our strategy is to seek
opportunities and open as many outlets as possible," he added.
"With
total investment exceeding US$5 billion, we have no problem investing more in
China. We will expand our network based on the regulations and customers'
needs."
The bank's move to further tap the Yangtze River Delta region,
home to the country's most active private economy, will take its network to 25
outlets the largest of any foreign player.
"The opening of our
Hangzhou branch on Tuesday is a major step for our organic growth in China,"
said HSBC Chief Executive Officer China Richard Yorke.
"At the heart of
the Yangtze River Delta, Hangzhou has attracted considerable overseas and
domestic investment in recent years and offers great potential for growth," he
said.
"Hangzhou and Zhejiang Province do a lot of imports and exports,
and a lot of that comes from smaller companies. HSBC has the largest trade
finance business in Asia and the Pacific of any bank. It's an area of
significant focus for us in China."
HSBC is one of a cluster of foreign
players pushing to expand their reach in China in anticipation of the retail
banking sector opening up.
Yorke said the bank had plans for more than 30
outlets by the end of this year and would recruit at least 1,000 employees a
year over the next two years to support its expansion, which includes corporate
and private banking services.
Located in a prime location in Hangzhou's
financial and commercial hub, the Hangzhou branch offers a comprehensive range
of corporate, commercial and retail banking services in foreign currency to
domestic and overseas customers, including local and foreign-invested
enterprises, local citizens, foreign nationals and residents from Hong Kong,
Macao and Taiwan.
HSBC's premier services global wealth
management for its retail banking customers are also available at the new
branch to meet increasing demand.
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