HSBC Holdings Plc sees an even brighter year in China, adding that a hard-landing scenario was erased by the strong bottoming-out of the economy late last year.

"Our outlook (for China) in 2013 is bright," said Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver in a conference call on Monday after the bank reported a 6 percent year-on-year drop in group pretax earnings to $20.6 billion.

"Our core business will continue to benefit from the recovering economic growth" in the Chinese mainland and its positive impact on other faster-growing regions, he said.