HSBC aims to set up shop in China

HSBC Holdings PLC has applied for a life insurance license with a Chinese partner and expects to begin operations in that country by 2008. Speaking to reporters in Hong Kong, David Fried, HSBC's head of insurance for Asia-Pacific, said that the bank submitted the application to regulators in the middle of 2006, according to a MarketWatch report. However, Mr. Fried declined to name the partner, adding that the business is still subject to approval by China's state insurance regulatory authority. Mr. Fried said the bank will sell its life insurance products through HSBC's growing network of branches across mainland China, according to the report. HSBC is based in London.