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.

 

(China Daily August 31, 2006)