HSBC Investment Bank is developing a close and valuable relationship with NTT Docomo. This has led to one of the largest deals in which HSBC has acted as a sole adviser.

The Japanese telecoms group, which is the country's dominant player, used HSBC as its sole adviser on the acquisition of a 15% stake, worth &euro5bn ($4.5bn), in KPN's mobile telephones arm. This follows the investment bank's sole advisory role on NTT Docomo's purchase of a 19% stake in Hutchison Telephones, the mobile unit of the Hong Kong group Hutchison Whampoa, for $410m (&euro451m) last November.