HSBC Holdings plans to double the size of its branch network in China this year with opening 30 to 40 branches and sub-branches, and hiring 1,000 people both this year and next, according to Bloomberg news. HSBC now employs about 2,700 people in China, with 14 branches in mainland Chinese cities and 21 sub-branches by the end of last year. The bank is the biggest international financial-services company in China, said HSBC.

Citigroup gained access to 502 banking outlets in China last year after buying 86 percent of Guangdong Development Bank. It got approval to open its seventh corporate bank branch in China in January and has 16 consumer bank outlets and two investment bank representative offices. The bank employs more than 3,000 people in China. In 1999, it had 150 employees.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the country’s biggest, employs more than 355,000 staff and operates 18,000 branches.