TAIPEI - BRITISH banking giant HSBC Holdings said on Thursday it is planning to hire 200 people in Taiwan to expand its mortgage business on the island.
HSBC Taiwan, with 33 branches and 3,000 employees, expects 2009 to be another profitable year after posting a record pretax profit of US$175 million (S$265.3 million) last year, said its chief executive, Nicholas Winsor.
He would not say if he expected HSBC Taiwan to set a record high profit this year.
News of the recruitment plan came after the bank said in December it would cut 10 per cent of its staff in Taiwan, about 300 jobs, through a voluntary redundancy programme amid slower loan growth in the global recession.
Mr Chen Hock U, head of HSBC Taiwan's personal financial services, said the bank will centre its work on raising the mortgage business in the short term.
HSBC hopes to double its share of Taiwan's mortgage market to at least four percent from two per cent within two to three years, Mr Chen said.
'You need a share of about 5 per cent to be a serious player in this market,' he said, adding that low house prices and interest rates made it a good time to buy residential property.
HSBC, which recently launched its mortgage programme in Taiwan, plans to open its 34th branch in Taiwan this year. -- AFP
