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Thursday 4 November 9:37 PM
HSBC Eyes Personal Fincl Svcs, Islamic Banking In SE AsiaSINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--HSBC Holdings PLC is interested in expanding its business in Southeast Asia, particularly in personal financial services and Islamic banking, a senior executive said Thursday. Meanwhile, in Northeast Asia, the U.K. banking group will likely focus on consolidating its recent investments in China while seeking opportunities in asset management and insurance. Speaking at a press conference in Singapore, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Chairman David Eldon said HSBC isn't ignoring Southeast Asia. "We do deals on an opportunistic basis and the deals have come up in Northeast Asia," he said. HSBC, he added, already had Islamic financial products through its operations in the U.K. and Middle East and would introduce them in the region if there is demand. Eldon identified Malaysia and Indonesia as promising markets for Islamic banking products although some changes to the laws are required in the latter country before they can be introduced. Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. is the Asian unit of HSBC, where Eldon is also a director. Turning to Northeast Asia, Eldon said the group's focus will be to help Bank of Communications, HSBC's partner in China, to improve efficiency and get it to distribute HSBC financial products. Foreign banks' share of the China market is less than 1%, and it makes more sense to grow the business through investments in the Chinese banking system, he said. In August, HSBC bought a 19.9% stake in Bank of Communications for US$1.75 billion. Besides Bank of Communications, HSBC also has a cooperation agreement with the Bank of Shanghai, and a 16% stake in Fujian's Industrial Bank through Hang Seng Bank Ltd. (0011.HK). -By Kevin Lim, Dow Jones Newswires; (65) 6415 4156; kevin.lim@dowjones.com
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