HSBC 2002 Annual Report Download - page 24

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC
Description of Business (continued)
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Banking Corporation’s network in mainland China
spans 11 major cities, comprising nine branches, in
Beijing, Dalian, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Shanghai,
Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wuhan and Xiamen, a sub-branch
in Puxi, Shanghai, and representative offices in
Chengdu and Chongqing. The Hongkong and
Shanghai Banking Corporation was one of the first
foreign banks to be allowed to provide renminbi
services to customers who are not citizens of the
People’s Republic of China, through its branches in
Shanghai and Shenzhen. In addition The Hongkong
and Shanghai Banking Corporation is a member of
the Shanghai ATM network, which comprises 17
domestic and foreign banks and offers services
through more than 2,000 ATMs throughout the city.
In November 2002, HSBC acquired a 10 per
cent equity stake in Ping An Insurance Company of
China Limited. Established in Shenzhen in 1988,
Ping An Insurance is the second-largest life insurer
and has the third-largest insurer in mainland China,
with over 25 million policyholders, some 21,500
employees and over 200,000 licensed agents. Ping
An Insurance also engages in investment trust and
securities business.
HSBC’s strong presence in mainland China is
supported by a wide range of business capabilities in
commercial and corporate banking as well as
personal financial services. With further
liberalisation of China’ s financial market, banking
regulations have been relaxed to permit foreign
banks to provide foreign currency services to
mainland Chinese companies and individual Chinese
citizens. HSBC became the first foreign bank to offer
foreign currency services to local citizens and
companies, at 10 locations across the country, and
launched online personal banking services to local
citizens and international customers in mainland
China in December 2002.
Hang Seng Bank operates branches in
Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Fuzhou and
representative offices in Beijing and Xiamen. Its
Shanghai branch, which moved to new premises in
August 2002, launched renminbi services for
expatriates and foreign-invested enterprises, and the
Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen branches began
offering foreign currency services to mainland
Chinese residents and enterprises and opened
Prestige Banking Centres during the year. Personal
internet banking services were launched in
December. Hang Seng Bank obtained in principle
approval during the year to open a branch in Nanjing
and approval to open a sub-branch in Puxi. Hang
Seng Securities Limited opened a representative
office in Shanghai in August 2002, and Hang Seng
Investment Management Limited obtained approval
in September 2002 to open a representative office in
Shenzhen. As part of HSBC’s development of Group
Service Centres to improve operational and cost
efficiency, HSBC’ s Guangzhou Service Centre has
been operating since 1995. In mid-2002, as further
opportunities to migrate data processing activities
were identified, a second centre became fully
operational in Shanghai.
HSBC’s strategy elsewhere in Asia-Pacific has
historically emphasised service to corporate and
commercial banking customers with a strong trade
services element augmented by an increasingly
important treasury and capital markets business. In
recent years, HSBC’s strategy has evolved to
promote an increased focus on providing products
and services that meet the wealth management
requirements of the mid and upper personal customer
segments. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation’s approach is to differentiate its products
from those offered by the local competition by
leveraging HSBC’s worldwide experience and
expertise. This strategy continues to be pursued
aggressively across the region, with ongoing
investment in upgrading and expanding HSBC’s
personal banking and cards operations.
The year 2002 saw the continued expansion of
internet banking services across the region with
substantial increases in both online customer activity
and the range of services offered. The number of
personal internet banking customers rose to over
300,000, a seven-fold increase over 2001, and 15 per
cent of the personal banking customer bases in 12
countries across the region can now bank online.
Further countries will be brought online in 2003.
Online services were expanded to include an
enhanced credit card offering, bill payment
capabilities and a SMS alert service which will be
built upon during 2003. 2002 also saw the
introduction of an online service for commercial
customers in India, Malaysia and Brunei which is
utilised at present by some 3,000 customers. Online
trade services and business banking services are
currently being piloted in Singapore and will be
extended to other markets during 2003. The HSBC
Group’s strong alliance with Yahoo! was
demonstrated in Asia by the joint sponsorship of the