Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC, has defended the bank’s strategy and vowed to carry on investing in emerging markets, following an attack by Eric Knight, the New York-based activist investor.

“We have a clear strategy, it is focused on investing and developing our powerful emerging markets franchises. We will continue to do that,” Mr Green said, pointing to HSBC’s agreement this week to buy a controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank for $6.3bn. “That was part of a strategy that had been carefully thought through from the beginning of the year.”