HSBC Holdings plans to recruit about 30 bankers to target India’s ultra-rich through its private bank, which the lender will launch in the country in the next few months, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The bank is seeking to fill the roles internally from staff in the country, as well as to hire wealth managers from rivals and independent firms, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Its onshore private-banking service may be set up as soon as June, one of the people said.

HSBC’s plans reflect the increasing competition to manage the growing wealth in India among both global and local firms. This has enticed the London-based bank back to a market it decided to exit in 2015. Only a quarter of India’s US$600-billion wealth industry, which is expanding annually at 12 per cent, is managed professionally, Julius Baer Group said earlier this year.

A spokesperson for HSBC declined to comment on the hiring plans or timeline for its wealth business.

Earlier, Nikhil Singhal, head of HSBC’s private-clients business in India, said in a LinkedIn post that the bank is growing its wealth team. He added that the post was a “call out for senior private bankers from the market to come join us in our plans to ‘grow in multiples’.”