David Liao, managing director and head of global markets at HSBC China, said: "We are excited to be able to work with leading local institutions to participate in the underwriting of financial bonds. There is tremendous growth potential in China's debt capital market and we will endeavor to be a contributing member of the underwriting community."

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"ABANA is honored to present the 2009 Achievement Award to Mr. Nasr for his illustrious international banking career and his substantial accomplishments," said Wa'el Chehab, President of ABANA.

Mr. Nasr joined HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: HCS) in 1976. He became President and CEO of HSBC Bank Canada in 1997, President & CEO of HSBC USA Inc. and HSBC Bank USA in 1999, and President of HSBC Bank Brazil in 2003. He became Group General Manager in 1998 and Group Managing Director in 2004.

Mr. Nasr holds a degree in Mathematics from Cambridge University (UK), and an MBA from Harvard University (US). Born in 1954 in Beirut, Lebanon, he is married and has two sons.

The award dinner, to be held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, will begin with a reception at 6:00 p.m. and gala dinner at 7:00 p.m. For more information about the event, including attendance and corporate sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.arabbankers.org.(C) 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

- Employment prospects keep expats in the UK
    - Largest global survey of expats ranks UK lifestyle 23rd out of 26th
      countries
    - Canada is the best place to live as an expat for overall lifestyle
    - Established markets outperform emerging markets
    - Expats generally lead a better life than non-expats

HSBC Bank International today revealed the findings of the world's largest survey of expats, Expat Explorer.

Expat Experience, the second report in the Expat Explorer research, showed that expats in Canada have the best quality of life and found it among the easiest places in the world to integrate with the local population. Australia and Thailand also ranked in the top three countries, when life as an expat was compared with life in their home country.

Interestingly, a number of countries in emerging markets scored poorly, with Russia and India propping up the bottom of the league table.

Commenting on this, Betony Taylor, Corporate Communications Manager for HSBC Bank International, said that the second report revealed fascinating insights into expats' priorities, particularly when financial gain is taken out of the equation.

"We have seen that there is a distinct trade-off between income and overall quality of life, as many of the top performers in our first report, which examined the best places to make and save money, have scored towards the bottom of this report's league table."

"What is clear is that the locations where salaries may not be as high, such as Canada and Australia, are where expats are really enjoying not only an increased quality of life but are also finding it easy to fit in to their new communities."

UK continues to perform poorly but holds the entertainment crown

As it did in 2008, our research revealed that the UK was one of the lowest ranked locations when it comes to expat lifestyle. Two-fifths (41%) of expats in the UK find it difficult to find somewhere to live, compared to a 28% average across all regions surveyed. Less than one-fifth (16%) of expats in the UK found that the quality of their accommodation had increased since moving, compared to the majority (58%) noticing a decrease in quality.

Around a third (31%) of expats living in the UK claimed that their health has deteriorated since moving there. One factor that could have contributed to this is the commute to work - over half (53%) of UK-based expats claim that this has become worse.

Despite this, the UK does hold the crown for being expat entertainment capital of the world, with over half (58%) of expats in the UK saying that the quality of entertainment had increased. 62% of expats also said that employment prospects were the main reason keeping them in the region.

Get involved

Are you an expat? Follow the updates and join the debate online:

Tweet at: http://twitter.com/expatexplorer

Share your experiences: http://expatexplorer.blogspot.com/

Read the report in full: http://www.offshore.hsbc.com/expatexplorer

Media enquiries to:
    Betony Taylor
    Head of Corporate Communications
    HSBC Bank International
    +44(0)1534-606004
    betony.taylor@hsbc.com

    Tim Mullen
    Hill & Knowlton
    +44(0)207-413-3465
    tim.mullen@hillandknowlton.com

Media enquiries to: Betony Taylor, Head of Corporate Communications, HSBC Bank
International, +44(0)1534-606004, betony.taylor@hsbc.com; Tim Mullen, Hill &
Knowlton, +44(0)207-413-3465,  tim.mullen@hillandknowlton.com

* "Our Global Banking and Markets business combines an in-depth understanding of the industries in which our Australian clients operate with international sector and product specialists, putting HSBC in its global entirety to work for each of our clients," HSBC Australia's chief executive Paulo Maia said in the statement.