Chinese businesses targeting Hong Kong and Taiwan expansion

Expansion of cross-border RMB trade settlement and improved China-Taiwan relationship have resulted to huge opportunities and challenges.

HSBC surveyed companies with cross-border businesses in China and found that 50 per cent plan to establish a presence in Hong Kong in the next five years and 36 per cent plan to establish a presence in Taiwan in the same period. HSBC China on Thursday announced a new service to better assist its corporate customers in their cross-border banking transactions in the Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, according to an HSBC report.

The research findings revealed that the greatest challenges of conducting cross-border banking were primarily dealing with multiple banking contacts in different markets, long remittance processes, foreign exchange fluctuations and a limited knowledge of regulations in other markets.

Magnus Montan, HSBC China’s Director and Chief Operating Officer of Commercial Banking, said: “The recent encouraging developments in the Greater China region, including the expansion of cross-border RMB trade settlement and the signing of ECFA between the Mainland and Taiwan, have brought about huge opportunities for companies in this region as well as business challenges.

“Research has indicated that tedious transaction processes, money flow delays and the hassles of dealing with multiple banking contacts are among the major obstacles hindering the efficiency of many businesses in China. To help our customers overcome these problems, we have streamlined our services in the Greater China region by offering our Mainland customers a single point of contact so that their banking needs across the region can be coordinated by their dedicated RM.”

Under the new service, HSBC’s RMs in the Mainland will serve as the single point of contact for customers with HSBC accounts in China who are conducting cross-border banking transactions throughout Greater China. The service allows customers to save time and avoid dealing with multiple HSBC contacts across the three markets.

By working closely with HSBC colleagues in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the dedicated Relationship Manager in China can help Mainland-based companies manage their banking accounts across the Greater China region more easily.

Customers using this service can gain access to better pricing by sharing credit records, improve remittance efficiency, reduce transaction costs and stay up-to-date on regulatory changes in three different markets.

Respondents also indicated the need for enhanced banking services to better support their cross-border needs, with strong cross-border payment and cash management capability (69%) and one-stop banking solutions (49%) as major priorities.

The service enhancement is supported by HSBC’s well-established service platform in the Greater China region.

HSBC China has the largest network among all foreign banks operating in the Mainland, with 101 outlets spanning 24 major cities. Local incorporation in Taiwan earlier this year has positioned HSBC for further expansion plans. In Hong Kong, HSBC has long been recognised as a leading financial institution.