Backing start-ups makes sense for large banks such as HSBC as they hope that successful entrepreneurs will become wealthy and clients of private banks and wealth management operations.

HSBC is building a $800 million technology fund to provide early-stage financing to businesses in the Greater Bay Area, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday.

The GBA+ Technology Fund will focus on lending to high-growth companies in mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong in a variety of sectors, including e-commerce, financial technology, robotics, biotech and healthcare technology, HSBC is quoted as having said.

“Lending money is not the sole purpose. We want to create a lasting relationship with our customers,” HSBC’s head of commercial banking in Hong Kong, Terence Chiu, said. “We're not transactional. That's never been our strategy in 154 years,” he was quoted as saying.

The launch of the fund comes at a sensitive time with the US and China at odds over trade and technology, among other matters. 

Backing start-ups makes sense for large banks such as HSBC as they hope that successful entrepreneurs will become wealthy and clients of private banks and wealth management operations.