By Himangshu Watts and Tony Munroe
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Global lender HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) expects to add about 5,000 staff in India over the next 12 to 18 months, and is building up its business serving domestic retail customers as well as small and medium-sized companies, the bank's India head said.
Naina Lal Kidwai, India country head of HSBC (0005.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), also said the bank would decide in the next two or three months whether to enter the retail brokerage business in India, where its net profit rose 64 percent in the fiscal year that ended in March.
Kidwai told the Reuters India Investment Summit on Thursday that HSBC had stepped up its focus on smaller business customers, who were driving a lot of economic activity.
"It's also where the growth of India comes from, with 60 percent of India's manufacturing and exports coming from the SME (small- and medium-sized enterprise) sector. Is this a sector that we can ignore?"
The bank had invested $1.7 billion as of March in its various India businesses including investment banking, capital markets, asset management, insurance broking and software development.
PROFIT GROWTH
Kidwai also said London-based HSBC's previously stated goal of building India into a $1 billion business on a pretax profit basis within five years is well within reach.
"We'll do that in five years," she said. "Five years is too long." Continued...
© Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved.
| Paper | Aug 20 - 21, 2008 | Manufacturing |
| Japan Investment | Jul 01 - 2, 2008 | Country Summits |
| Global Real Estate | Jun 23 - 25, 2008 | Real Estate |
| Consumer and Retail | Jun 16 - 18, 2008 | Consumer Retail |
| Investment Outlook | Jun 09 - 12, 2008 | Financial Services / Exchanges |
