HONG KONG - GLOBAL banking giant HSBC said Monday it has cut 450 staff in Hong Kong in anticipation of a deteriorating global economy next year.

All the affected staff had been notified of the news by Monday night, a spokeswoman for the bank's Hong Kong operations told AFP.

'Because of the uncertainties ahead and the deteriorating external economy, we have to be cautious of the operating environment next year,' she said.

'Under the circumstances, we had to make a review.' The spokeswoman refused to give a breakdown on the job cuts and added that the bank would try to help affected staff through internal redeployment where possible.

But an internal memo sent to staff from the company's executive director Peter Wong on Monday described the redundancies as 'across all customer groups and some bank office functions,' according to Dow Jones Newswires.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Banking Employees Association said he was concerned that the layoffs would encourage other banks to follow suit, broadcaster TVB reported.

HSBC recently announced plans to cut 1,100 jobs because of the global economic downturn. It employs around 330,000 people worldwide, including about 20,000 staff in Hong Kong.

The bank refused to confirm earlier reports which said that more than 100 jobs in its Hong Kong office had already been cut.

Singapore's DBS Group, Southeast Asia's biggest bank by assets, said earlier it would reduce its workforce by six percent, or 900 staff, by the end of this month, to trim costs after reporting a slump in third quarter net profit.

The group said its staff in Singapore and Hong Kong would be the primary targets for the cuts. -- AFP