HSBC plans to quadruple the number of Chinese mainland companies covered by research from its China joint venture over the next two years as it seeks to take advantage of its headstart as the first international bank to have majority control of its mainland securities firm.

Shenzhen-based HSBC Qianhai Securities, run in conjunction with a local government investment vehicle holding 49 percent, began operating a year ago offering equity and debt underwriting, research and broking as well as merger and acquisition advice and investment advisory work.

In addition to the 280 companies covered already by the bank, HSBC Qianhai has added more than 80 mainland-listed stocks since it opened, and plans to expand that to 400, according to Irene Ho, chief executive of HSBC Qianhai.

“We expect to get to 400 in two years — there or thereabouts,” Ho said.

HSBC is working to take advantage of what executives believe is a three-year headstart on international rivals because of its majority control, which it gained by virtue of rules favoring Hong Kong businesses.

Last Friday, UBS became only the second bank to gain approval for 51 percent control under a broader relaxation of financial-sector ownership by China.

The opening up of China’s financial sector promises huge opportunities for international players, until now mostly operating on the margins of mainland markets.

Analysts at UBS have forecast that foreign banks could quadruple their revenues from brokerage in China by 2025 if the trend of market opening continues. Last year, foreigners took 1.3 percent of the total fee pool, according to the UBS report, published in June.

Banks have been beefing up their research teams in recent years and market leaders such as Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Credit Suisse, produce research on between 150 and 400 listed Chinese companies each.

Helping foreign banks this year has been the acceptance of mainland Chinese stocks and bonds into global benchmark indices, forcing index-tracking investors to invest onshore for the first time.

While index inclusion is only gradual and investor appetite this year has been dented by market falls — China’s blue-chip CSI Index has fallen about 19 percent since Jan. 1 — executives are still confident in the longer-term opportunity. (SD-Agencies)