HSBC opens China desk in Poland to further tap Belt and Road opportunities

HSBC has launched a business desk in Poland to facilitate trade and investment flows between China and countries in Central and Eastern Europe （CEE） as two-way business increases dramatically under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The bank’s new China Desk will focus, in particular, on Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, which together have attracted the bulk of China’s investment in the region.

According to research consultancy Rhodium Group, Chinese investment in these five countries increased to 4.5 billion euros (US$5.4 billion) between 2000 and 2016.

The new service in the Polish capital Warsaw brings the number of HSBC's China Desks to 24 globally.

Officially launched in 2012, HSBC’s China Desks now cover six continents, including 11 markets in the Asia-Pacific region, five in Europe, four in the Middle East and Africa, and four in the Americas.

These operations, covering major destinations for China’s outbound direct investments, support domestic companies and their foreign counterparts in identifying new business opportunities and accessing financial products in a range of currencies, including yuan, along the Belt and Road Initiative region.

 “We are seeing increasing demand from both Chinese firms and their overseas partners involved in Belt and Road projects for banking services, such as strategic advisory, financing, hedging solutions, and cash and liquidity management services,” said David Liao, president and chief executive officer for China at HSBC.

Michał H. Mrożek, chief executive officer for Poland at HSBC, added that Poland’s presence on the New Silk Road and the country’s status as one of the founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, were “important arguments” for locating the newest China Desk in Warsaw.

Despite lackluster global trade, China-CEE trade expanded 4.3 percent year on year in 2016 and surged 14.1 percent in the first three quarters of last year.