HSBC continues to bet on wealthy Japanese

By David Dolan and Emi Emoto

TOKYO (Reuters) - Global market turmoil is unlikely to derail HSBC's push into Japan as Europe's biggest bank bets on the millions of wealthy in the world's second-largest economy, HSBC's top executive in Japan said on Wednesday.

HSBC Holdings is on track to meet its goals for "HSBC Premier," the retail business it rolled out earlier this year to target Japanese with at least 10 million yen (57,000 pounds) in liquid assets, Stuart Milne, country manager for Japan, told Reuters.

The sharp downturn in global markets may be eroding investor appetite for risk, but Milne reckons that over the long term Japanese investors will continue to seek higher returns than those commonly available in their home market.

"HSBC is typically seen as a safe haven in tough times," he said in an interview.

"In Japan we continue to see satisfactory growth in customer numbers and assets under management. And while our brand isn't as well known in Japan as it is in some other markets, we're very happy with the progress made."

Milne said the bank was "well on the way" to meeting its internal targets for HSBC Premier, although he declined to give numbers. The bank has said globally it is looking for about 6 million customers, up from about 2.2 million now.

LIQUID ASSETS

London-based HSBC is one of several large financial groups lining up to do business with Japan's millions of wealthy individuals.