HSBC plans JV with Shenzhen Qianhai

Europe's biggest lender HSBC Holdings Plc has agreed to establish a majority-owned securities joint venture in China, taking advantage of the country's rules that favor Hong Kong-established banks over foreign peers in the world's second-biggest economy.

Stepping up its interest in China, HSBC could own up to 51 percent of a proposed joint venture with China's unlisted Shenzhen Qianhai Financial Holdings Co Ltd, the lender said in a statement on Monday.

HSBC's advantage comes from its ownership of a Hong Kong-based banking subsidiary, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp Ltd.