HSBC Holdings, the biggest bank in Europe, will sell its 8 percent stake in the Bank of Shanghai to Spanish lender Banco Santander as it focuses on its operations in the China market, HSBC said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

The London-based bank said the stake, acquired for around US$63 million in 2001, was worth HK$3.63 billion (US$468 million) at the end of September.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and is expected to close in the first half of 2014, HSBC said in the statement.

Peter Wong, chief executive officer of HSBC for Asia-Pacific, said focusing on the core business is more important for the bank's operations in China. HSBC will give priority to business development on China’s mainland and its partnership with the Bank of Communications in which it owns 19 percent, he added. The country’s fifth-biggest lender's 2012 profit was almost eight times that of the Bank of Shanghai.

HSBC also sold its US$7.4 billion stake in Ping An Insurance Group earlier this year as part of its restructuring plan.