HSBC eyes China investment banking JV

By Tony Munroe and Kennix Chim

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Global bank HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L)(0005.HK) hopes to strike an investment banking partnership in China as part of its expansion in the region, the bank's Asia chairman said on Tuesday.

The lender had no plans to curb its expansion efforts in Asia-Pacific as inflation and a global slowdown weigh on the region's economies, although it continues to fine-tune its investment plans, Vincent Cheng said an in interview.

He said organic expansion will drive growth in Asia, including the key emerging markets of China and India, although HSBC is always keeping an eye open for acquisition opportunities.

"We are growing our branches, we are investing in technology in Asia-Pacific," Cheng said.

"If we can buy something, that would be nice, because it's a faster way of expanding our business, but if we cannot we can still use organic growth to grow our business," he said.

In China, foreign institutions covet licences that allow them to form investment banking joint ventures to underwrite domestic stock and bond offerings.

Beijing has been slow to grant such licences, with only a handful of banks managing to win approval for mainland securities joint ventures, including Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Goldman Sachs (GS.N), UBS (UBSN.VX)(UBS.N) and Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX).

HSBC hopes to add its name to that list.