INTERVIEW-HSBC plans to enter 3-4 new China cities per year

LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's biggest bank HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) should have more than 80 branches and outlets in mainland China by the end of this year and said it expects to add three or four new cities to its Chinese network each year.

HSBC will open a branch in three more cities in mainland China this year, is adding more outlets in existing cities and has opened its second rural bank, Richard Yorke, chief executive of HSBC China, said on Tuesday. The bank currently has 74 outlets in 17 cities, up from 62 at the start of the year.

China's economy remains "extremely robust" despite some areas of slowdown and HSBC China is coupling its expansion with "year to year profitability growth," he said.

"We expect to see continued strong profit growth at the same time we are expanding and investing in the business," Yorke told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"We believe the strategy we've got, of a balance of the corporate and commercial banking and personal banking, gives us a number of strong unique advantages among the foreign banks."

China's economy has slowed, but growth has stayed above 10 percent in the second quarter and domestic consumption should continue to drive the economy and the government can stimulate growth if it slips, Yorke said.

"If it (GDP) drops below 8 or 9 percent I think there will be measures to make sure that the growth rate is maintained above 8 percent," he said.

HSBC will this year open branches in Zhengzhou, Henan province; Ningbo in Zhejiang; and Jinan in Shandong province, Yorke said.

Sub-branches can be opened after the first branch in a city, and Yorke said HSBC expects to add 20-25 sub-branches each year.

HSBC on Tuesday opened a rural bank branch in Chongquing, its second village bank and the first move by an international bank into the rural market in western China.

HSBC was one of the first foreign banks to incorporate locally in China last year. It made a profit of $907 million in China in the first-half of this year, mainly from the contribution of associates, but the contribution of its own network rose 85 percent on the year to $159 million.

(Reporting by Steve Slater; editing by Sharon Lindores)