HSBC to back Chinese companies in their global expansion plans, CEO Elhedery says

With continued investment, China is poised to lead the future of technology-driven, resilient, and sustainable supply chains, Elhedery says.

HSBC Holdings, one of Europe’s largest banking groups by assets, has pledged to support companies from mainland China in their global expansion plans, citing its confidence in the nation’s resilient and sustainable supply chains.

Chinese enterprises could change production and consumption patterns as they invest in technologies and new energy to chase sustainable growth, the bank’s global CEO Georges Elhedery said in a video posted on the WeChat account of the China Development Forum on Sunday.

“China has been successful in adopting innovative technologies to strengthen and transform its supply chains,” he said. “With continued investment, including into research and development, China is poised to lead the future of technology-driven, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.”

In his opening address at the forum in Beijing on Sunday, Premier Li Qiang said international companies with mainland businesses could benefit from China’s efforts to further widen access to its market and loosen state controls over various industries.

Group CEO Georges Elhedery is redirecting more capital into lucrative markets in Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and India. Photo: Dickson Lee

The forum attracted more than 80 executives from global multinational companies, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and BMW Group chairman Oliver Zipse. HSBC to Back Chinese Companies in Global Expansion

HSBC would submit a paper to the forum to discuss topics such as global trade, supply-chain management, technologies and sustainability in detail, Elhedery said.

“With this strong foundation, we expect China to remain an engine for global growth in 2025 and across this decade,” Elhedery said in a separate statement, adding that the world’s second-largest economy would maintain a thriving and sustainable growth pattern at the heart of global trade and investment.

China’s economy and supply chains have come under pressure amid heightened US-China geopolitical tensions. The Trump administration doubled additional tariffs on Chinese imports to 20 per cent earlier this month to punish Beijing for not doing enough to curb the flow of fentanyl into the US. Beijing retaliated by slapping tariffs of up to 15 per cent on US farm goods.

Last month, Elhedery said HSBC would invest more resources in Hong Kong and mainland China’s wealth-management products and services to grow in business in dynamic markets. The bank would redeploy US$1.5 billion of capital from “low-return” markets to lucrative markets like Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and India, he added.

China’s new growth drivers like electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy and biotechnology were creating new opportunities and new sources of exports, Elhedery said.

Chinese EV assemblers and supply-chain vendors are at the global vanguard of the automotive supply chain because they have capitalised on core technologies for batteries, self-driving and in-car entertainment, according to Bosch, the world’s largest auto-parts supplier.

“Chinese EV companies are keen on expanding abroad and they need top banks like HSBC to help, not only in financing, but also to better understand the local markets,” said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. “This also offers opportunities for their foreign partners.”