HSBC Holdings said it would increase its stake in Bank of Communications, the fifth-largest lender on the mainland, at an appropriate time.
Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen, the chairman of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp, the Asia-Pacific unit of HSBC, said yesterday in Beijing that the bank would top up its stake in Bocom to 19.9 per cent but did not elaborate when would be a right time.
The bank holds 19.01 per cent of the mainland lender. A foreign bank cannot hold more than 20 per cent of a mainland bank under current regulations.
Mr Cheng reiterated earlier that the bank would not cut its stakes in Bocom and Ping An Insurance (Group). HSBC owns 16.8 per cent of Ping An. He added that the bank would continue to expand on the mainland and would participate more in infrastructure financing in line with the government's policy.
He said the bank had scaled down its business in the US, so there was more room for it to expand on the mainland and other Asian markets.
