Word: hsbc
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...HSBC recently conducted a survey on saving and spending patterns among the middle class in six Asian cities: Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo. Surprisingly, it was Shanghai's middle class that stood out as having the highest propensity to spend. Nearly three out of four Shanghainese who answered the survey said they agreed with the statement that "people nowadays will choose a balanced spending and saving mode rather than sacrificing to save." Of this group, 47% said they saved only what was left at the end of the month; almost one out of three said they...
...smaller ones such as Xiamen and Wuxi. Across China, spending is already surging, with retail sales rising by 13.7% last year and 12.9% in 2005. Spending patterns are changing, too. Consumer demand is expanding to service industries as Chinese splash out on travel, sports and entertainment. According to HSBC research, middle-class Chinese consumers now dine out three times a week, belong to fitness clubs and travel for pleasure at least twice a year, albeit mostly within China. Mobile phones and personal computers have become common in this land of former hand-to-mouth farmers. That's providing abundant opportunities...
Another problem is staffing. Cities like Chengdu don't have enough managers with global experience. HSBC, a company with a vast history in China, opened a branch in Chengdu in 2005 to service corporate customers. It would like to begin retail-banking operations in the city, but a dearth of local talent is one factor holding it back. "It is not easy to find staff who are familiar with foreign operations but also have a good understanding of the local market and customs," says Henry Han, manager of the Chengdu branch...
While some firms, like PC maker Dell, are still willing to sponsor major reforestation initiatives, others aren't taking chances. HSBC steered clear of trees when it successfully offset 170,000 tons of its emissions for the last quarter of 2005 through investments in renewable energy projects. "However many trees we planted around the world, we could not keep up [with global CO2 output]", says Francis Sullivan, the bank's environment adviser. HSBC looks, he says, for more efficient uses of its money, such as its investment in a wind farm in New Zealand. Tree planting, Sullivan says...
...Such offbeat offerings indicate the growing need for private banks to distinguish themselves from competitors in a fragmented market that's ferociously competitive. The largest global private banks in Asia are UBS, Credit Suisse, HSBC and Citigroup, but there are scores of others, and no single player is dominant?Citigroup, which manages roughly $70 billion in Asian private-banking assets, is one of the top-three regional players, yet it still controls just 3-4% of the Asia market. With customers up for grabs, selling services can be about marketing the sizzle?bragging rights and a sense of privilege...