HSBC Holdings, the parent of Hong Kong's biggest lender, plans to boost its mainland operations by hiring an additional 4,000 staff and opening another 100 outlets over the next two years.
The bold expansion plan follows stinging criticism of the bank's management for what shareholder activists alleged was neglect of its own Asian backyard at the expense of what they said was an underperforming share price.
However, the pace of new branch openings in the mainland has been steadily increasing since local incorporation in April, Peter Wong Tong-shun, an executive director of the bank's Asia-Pacific unit, said.
HSBC was among the first foreign banks to win approval from the mainland banking regulator to incorporate in the country - a move that allowed it to offer a wider range of yuan-denominated services to customers, Mr Wong said.
'The resulting growth of both our deposits and loans has surpassed our original targets,' he said.
HSBC has 54 branches and sub-branches in the mainland, almost double the 30 outlets it operated early this year, while staff numbers have increased to about 4,500 from more than 2,000, Mr Wong said.
