HSBC going solo on China card issue a boost to group's expansion

Hong Kong

HSBC Holdings plc winning approval to start a credit-card business in China's US$1 trillion market offers chief executive officer Stuart Gulliver added flexibility in his push into the nation's retail banking and wealth-management industries.

The approval from Chinese authorities came as HSBC ended a card venture with Bank of Communications Co, said the bank's Asia- Pacific head Peter Wong, paving the way for the UK company to join Citigroup Inc and Bank of East Asia Ltd as the only foreign credit-card issuers on the mainland. Mr Wong didn't say when HSBC won the nod from regulators, or provide any specifics on how the business will be rolled out.