HONG KONG, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered Plc's Asia chief executive told Reuters Insider on Wednesday that the bank plans to increase hiring for its new businesses and sees the appreciation of China's currency as an opportunity for the bank and its clients.
In response to a question on concerns of too much money flowing into emerging markets -- a question that added HSBC Holdings Plc's recent comment on seeing "speedbumps" in these markets -- Asia Chief Executive Jaspal Bindra cited Brazil and Korea as fitting that description.
"We are seeing pockets where people are, either through capital reserves and mortgages, trying to arrest the mortgage bubble," Bindra said in the television interview. He added the commodities space to his watch list "because I think that is the other bubbly space right now".
Although based in Britain, the majority of StanChart's business was focused on Asia, home to 70 percent of the bank's headcount, business and profitablity, Bindra said.
Areas in which Bindra expected to increase hiring include new businesses, such as equities, corporate finance, private banking and commodities. (Reporting by Deborah Kan, writing by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Chris Lewis)