HSBC mulls sale of South Africa business, Bloomberg News reports

LONDON (Reuters) -HSBC Holdings is currently exploring a sale of its South Africa businesses, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, as the once globe-spanning company continues to move its focus towards Asia.

The lender's business in the country operates as a branch of its British unit and offers commercial and investment banking services, with no personal or retail banking, according to its website.

A spokesperson for HSBC declined to comment, citing a company policy not to comment on market speculation.

African, Chinese and United Arab Emirates-based bidders have shown interest in HSBC's South African business, Bloomberg reported.

HSBC entered South Africa in 1995, and today serves mainly large companies operating on the continent.

HSBC has in recent years been slashing its businesses in Western markets such as the U.S., France, and Canada as it focuses on Asia and markets where it has scale.

(Reporting by Lawrence White in London and Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; editing by Devika Syamnath and Jason Neely)