ANZ aims to grow HK dealing room staff to 70-source

HONG KONG May 20 (Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX), in the midst of an aggressive expansion in Asia, is looking to expand its dealing room in Hong Kong to more than 70 people over the coming year from about 8 people now, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans.

A spokeswoman for Australia's third-largest bank said the lender plans to have a "significant dealing room presence in Hong Kong and Singapore", and to a lesser extent in Japan, but declined to provide specifics.

ANZ, which sources have said is bidding for Hong Kong's Wing Lung Bank (0096.HK), will use its Hong Kong dealing room expansion to focus on fixed income, foreign exchange and equities distribution in the greater China region, said the source, who was not authorised to speak with the media.

ANZ, which has 3,000 staff in Asia, generates about 7 percent of after-tax group net profit in Asia-Pacific, a share it plans to grow to 20 percent by 2012. (Reporting by Tony Munroe in Hong Kong and Lincoln Feast in Singapore; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)