HSBC Singapore has launched an overseas mortgage package that will initially be offered to customers buying residential property in Australia before being rolled out to other markets.

The HSBC International Mortgage will allow consumers to choose the loan currency in either Australian or Singapore dollars, the bank said yesterday.

The customers will also be accorded the HSBC Premier status here once they take up a mortgage, the bank said.

This will give them access to relationship-manager support via HSBC's Premier International Centres in the region, which includes Singapore and Australia.

Mr Ranojoy Dutta, head of retail products at HSBC Singapore, said: "We went with Australia as the first market... given the affinity that Singaporeans have for the country on the back of their business, education, holiday or familial ties."

A report by HSBC last year noted that about 30 per cent of mass-affluent Singaporeans surveyed had overseas property investments while 70 per cent plan to buy abroad.

Around 400,000 Singaporeans visited Australia in 2017 while about 1,800 started studying at Australian universities in 2016, according to Australian High Commission data.