HSBC will take part in Bank of Communications' (BoCom) upcoming rights issue and is keen to increase its shareholding in the Chinese lender when regulations allow, said Michael Geoghegan, group chief executive of HSBC.
"When the opportunity arises, when the chance comes, we will invest in China," Geoghegan told CNBC on Tuesday. "I cannot raise the stake in China other than what the regulations say, and regulations say you cant go above 20%."
"We want to grow our business in Asia, its our biggest market ... it is a tough market at the present time, but I do believe China is growing," he explained.
BoCom, in which HSBC currently owns about a 20% stake, plans to to raise as much as 42 billion yuan ($6.1 billion) via a rights issue in Shanghai and Hong Kong to bolster capital and support expansion. China's fifth-largest lender announced that it will sell up to 1.5 shares for every 10 held by existing shareholders.
HSBC has also expressed interest in listing in Shanghai, hoping to raise between $3-7 billion from its initial public offering to fund its expansion plans into China.
"I think that is a good store of money to put in China ... Our Shanghai listing is very much dependent on the Chinese authorities saying that is what they want to do. So if we raise money by an IPO, when it happens, we will put it back into China," revealed Geoghegan.
