(Yicai Global) March 11 -- Troubled HSBC Holdings has appointed a new chief for its key market of growth, China. 

Wang Yunfeng has been named as HSBC Bank China's chief executive officer and president and he will be in charge of the firm's business expansion, the largest foreign-funded lender in the mainland said in a statement today.

China, including the Greater Bay Area, is a key development market, the London-headquartered company said in its 2019 strategy report. The need for growth has only been emphasized by that lackluster year when the firm's profit before tax slumped by a third to USD13.4 billion, according to an earnings report published on Feb. 18. HSBC will cut as many as 35,000 jobs globally over the next three to five years, it added. 

Wang has been leading the Shanghai-based unit's international banking and capital market operations since June 2016. He joined HSBC in 2005. Before that, he worked for Bank of China and Deutsche Bank.

Editor: Emmi Laine