* Aims to be biggest international bank in China
* To boost branch network in China next year
* Shanghai IPO depends on regulatory requirements (Adds quotes, details)
By Faith Hung and Joseph Chaney
TAIPEI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings, Europe's biggest bank, will focus its Asia acquisition strategy on China and other expanding markets, Sandy Flockhart, chief executive of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp said on Monday.
"We will be the largest international bank in China," the chief executive told reporters in Taipei. "We will continue to invest in China in 2010."
HSBC aims to increase the number of its branches in China by 15-20 next year, and to have 100 branches by the end of 2009.
HSBC said recently it would go to a dual-headquarters system in Hong Kong and London to emphasise the importance the bank places on Asia going forward.
Last month, the bank said it was swinging its power base back to its place of birth 144 years ago by moving its chief executive to Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the bank's planned IPO in Shanghai depended on regulatory requirements, and there was no specific timeframe yet, added Flockhart, who is also global head of commercial banking, speaking to reporters in Taipei.
HSBC could raise 50 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) in a Shanghai listing next year as it tries to become one of the first foreign companies to list in China.
HSBC has hired China International Capital Corp (CICC) and Citic Securities Co to help arrange an initial public offering in Shanghai, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters in August.
The Shanghai flotation is a way to accelerate the bank's growth in the mainland at a time when international rivals have retreated, the company has said.
HSBC Holdings Plc said in August that its first-half profit halved from a year earlier to $5 billion as it was hit by rising bad debts in the United States, Europe and Asia. (Editing by Chris Lewis)