Hang Seng looks to the mainland for growth.

(From The Standard)

Byline: Sebastian Tong

Hemmed in by Hong Kong's dreary economic conditions, Hang Seng Bank is eyeing expansion along coastal and western China with help from its parent HSBC.

``We hope to grow our business in China's coastal cities,'' chief executive Vincent Cheng said yesterday. ``We will be interested if there are opportunities to expand in western China, though for now there are restrictions. ``So in the short-term, we will focus on the coastal cities including those in the Pearl River and the Yangtze River deltas.'' Speaking a day after the SAR's third-largest lender reported a 1.5 per cent drop in 2002 net profit to …