HSBC Holdings (LSE: HSBA.L) Listing on Shanghai Exchange with £5 Billion Share Offer

There is little doubt growth for banks is in the Asian markets, and to that end HSBC Holdings  (LSE: HSBA.L) will soon be listed on the Shanghai stock exchange.

To start off the bank will initiate a £5 billion share offer to investors from China.

Recently HSBC acknowledged that even after they turn things around in the American market and become profitable there again, it won’t be the growth area it once was, and the way they weight their investments will definitely change in percentage toward the Asian markets, as before it was pretty evenly spread between America, Europe and Asia; while now they’re going to change that significantly in the years ahead, weighting it more toward the Asian markets.

This isn’t primarily about raising cash for HSBC, but rather is a marketing move which the Chinese should respond to in a healthy and enthusiastic way, as it adds prestige to the Shanghai Exchange, which is easily the most respected in mainland China at this time, and this will add to that prestige, and will surely be followed by other mature market companies looking to expand in the region.

As in most markets, growth and expansion is easier when the people of the region have a stake in the company, and so offering that to the Chinese should give HSBC a strong foundation to work and grow from in that area of the world.

Assuming no other foreign company lists before them, HSBC will be the first international company to list on the Shanghai Exchange, an extremely important accomplishment, and one the Chinese will probably reward them for handsomely, as far as doing business with them and helping them grow.

With New York and London weakening in the eyes of the world as far as finance goes, this move by HSBC is a huge one for the Chinese as well, without a doubt signaling the first steps toward recognizing the extraordinary financial shift of importance from the West to Asia.

Advising HSBC on the listing are China Citic and China International Capital Corporation. They will add Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to their advisement circle as the listing date gets closer, which has been rumored to be possibly set for as soon as March, although it could be later than that date.

To confirm the importance of China and Asia to their expansion strategy, HSBC recently moved CEO Michael Geoghegan to Hong Kong, where the company will keep its base, essentially coming back full circle from their roots, which started in Hong Kong and Shanghai back in 1865.