The Asia-focused British lender plans to hire at least 200 staff in China each year until 2016, and another 1,000 in Singapore during the period, a spokeswoman from HSBC Hong Kong's office told AFP.

"Asia is a very important part of our overall growth strategy," she said, adding "we continue to invest and attract the best talents in Asia to capture the wealth segment in Asia."

The bank, which is headquartered in London, currently has 5,000 employees in mainland China and 3,500 staff in Singapore. The spokeswoman said the hiring plan did not specify in which areas the new employees will be hired.

The massive hiring plan comes after HSBC, which survived the 2008 global financial meltdown without state aid -- unlike many of its rivals -- said last week it would seek to save $2.5-3.5 billion in costs over two years.

Its new chief executive Stuart Gulliver has said the savings would be ploughed back into fast-growing markets around the world, especially in Asia.

The banking titan was also looking into selling its US branch network and cards business. Other cash-saving measures include a streamlining of IT operations.

HSBC was founded in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 1865 and the bank regards Asia as its most important region. It is listed on the London and Hong Kong exchanges.

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