The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is the founding and a principal member of the HSBC Group which, with over 9,500 offices in 86 countries and territories and assets of US$2,527 billion at 31 December 2008, is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.

HSBC aims to bring positive social change to different communities through its diverse rugby sponsorships across the world.  HSBC’s rugby investments cover more than 30 countries and territories, from the pinnacle ofthe elite game through the British & Irish Lions to the development of emerging rugby countries through the Asian 5 Nations.  HSBC’s rugby sponsorships share a common aim: uniting people and cultures through the positive values of rugby.

HSBC’s relationship with Asian rugby dates back to the 19th century with its in-houseside, Wayfoong’s (Chinese for ‘focus of wealth’ or ‘abundance of remittances’) match against the Hong Kong Football Club, which is the oldest annual fixturein the history of Hong Kong rugby. HSBC played another vital role in supporting Asian rugby with its sponsorship of the world famous Hong Kong Sevens.

As rugby has grown in Asia, HSBC has furthered its support of the game through its sponsorship of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations. With 26 national teams from an array of diverse cultures such as Sri Lanka, Korea, China, Iran and Uzbekistan,the HSBC Asian 5 Nations is an exciting opportunity to develop the sport of rugby, with the ultimate objective of qualification for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. The competition offers a much needed opportunity for national teams to play competitive rugby in a meaningful and high profile way, with an underlying commitment to growing participation across Asia.

The sponsorship covers three tiers of elite competition with promotion and relegation opportunities for participating teams. This year, the Top 5 andDivision I Competitions are doubling as Rugby World Cup 2011 Qualification tournaments.  The Top 5 competition will be played across a five-week, single round robin home-and-away format featuring the defending champions Japan, runners-up Korea, Hong Kong,Kazakhstan and the newly promoted team, Singapore.  Test matches will be held on five consecutive weekends from25 April to 24 May 2009.

HSBC is also the principal partner of the British & Irish Lions Tour 2009 to South Africa.  HSBC and the British & Irish Lions Committee have developed a range of progammes to support the growth of rugby at the grass roots level, both in UK and in South Africa. HSBC is also the principal sponsor of the Super 14 side, the New South Wales, Australia Waratahs and a main sponsor of the Dubai Sevens, a 16-team international sevens event that is enjoyed by over 30,000 fans each year.

HSBC sponsors another world-famous invitational rugby touring side, the Penguins, and the Penguin Rugby Coaching Academy, which was started in 2004. The coaching programme is closely aligned with another of HSBC’s key rugby sponsorships, the Cobra 10s in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Each year, a major schools rugby tournament is run in conjunction with the international 10s. The Penguins commit to coaching a minimum of 200 teachers in Malaysia each year.  As part of the HSBC A5N, Penguins coaches will visit Japan, Singapore, China, Mongolia, Qatar and Macau in 2009.