HSBC. Photo: VCG

HSBC has signaled new investment in the Chinese mainland by this month introducing demand-driven and customized wealth management and insurance services empowered by digital technologies. 

HSBC Life China, the HSBC Group's insurance joint venture in the Chinese mainland, will offer a new digitally enabled financial planning and insurance service this month, according to a statement HSBC sent to the Global Times on Friday. 

Mobile personal wealth planners at HSBC Life will first serve customers in the cities of Guangzhou and Shanghai. "This will complement HSBC's current insurance and wealth capabilities that are offered in the bank's branches," read the statement. 

At the same time, HSBC is preparing to establish a fintech company in the Chinese mainland to provide technology, digital and data services to support HSBC entities. The statement did not reveal the exact scale of the company. 

"As the leading international bank in the Chinese mainland, we are firmly committed to expand our reach and offer a distinctive and customer-centric wealth management experience while continuing to play a part in the development of China's financial markets," said Greg Hingston, regional head of wealth and personal banking for Asia-Pacific at HSBC, adding that these new investments mark HSBC's continued efforts to capture high growth opportunities in the Chinese mainland. 

However, experts have called the move a rescue measure to survive in the Chinese market as HSBC has been facing tremendous pressure and growing controversy over its role in the legal battle with Chinese technology giant Huawei and its lingering ambiguous attitude toward Hong Kong's national security law.

"Decision makers at HSBC are very clear about what the Chinese market means to the company's survival and development. HSBC does not want to quit the market and commit suicide," Mei Xinyu, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under China's Ministry of Commerce, told the Global Times on Friday.

London-headquartered HSBC is like a chess piece stuck in the middle between China and the UK over the newly passed national security law for Hong Kong, observers said, adding that the UK government is killing its own enterprises by sending domestic firms one by one into the political battle. 

However, Mei said HSBC must offer an explanation on its involvement in the Huawei case. Legal experts and media found that previous legal documents indicate HSBC had set a trap for Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou's probe as it grappled with its own issues in the face of US sanctions.

"China does not want to kick HSBC out of the country, but the company should make its involvement in Meng's case clear," Mei added.

It is impossible for any fence-sitting companies to survive in China if they sell business secrets of Chinese firms to foreign governments, as they earn their money from Chinese consumers, observers warned. 

HSBC is accustomed to following the stream created by Western countries, and lost its own decision making rights, Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Beijing-based Information Consumption Alliance, told the Global Times. 

"Even though HSBC bears a sense of arrogance in its bones, as a company, it knows earning money is the priority so it will not give up the lucrative Chinese market," Xiang added.