Banking News
- HSBC to double mainland branches
Date: 14-Mar-2007 Sources: (Xinhua Online)
HSBC Holdings Plc plans to double the size of its branch network on the Chinese mainland this year as it focuses growth on emerging markets, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.
The London-based company, founded 142 years ago in Hong Kong, may open as many as 30 to 40 branches and sub-branches this year and hire 1,000 people both this year and next, said Peter Wong, executive director for Hong Kong and China's mainland. The investment in new outlets and training personnel will weigh on profits, Wong said.
Overseas banks, including Citigroup Inc, are accelerating expansion in the mainland after the government this year allowed them to do business in yuan. HSBC has targeted growth in emerging markets after suffering defaults on loans amid a housing slump in North America.
'The global players can't miss out on China mainland even though the profit may not come in the next few years,' said Kent Yau, Hong Kong-based deputy head of research at Core-Pacific Yamaichi International Ltd. HSBC is 'trying to keep themselves ahead of the others.'
HSBC now employs about 2,700 people in the country, with 14 branches in mainland cities and 21 sub-branches at the end of last year. The bank is the biggest international financial-services company in the mainland, Chairman Stephen Green said last week.
The mainland reported economic growth of 10.7 percent last year, the fastest pace among major economies.
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