NEW YORK (Reuters) - China's Sinochem has hired HSBC <HSBA.L> bank to advise it on its options regarding Potash Corp <POT.TO>, the target of a $38.6 billion hostile bid from BHP Billiton, <BHP.AX> <BLT.L> the Wall Street Journal reported on its blog on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the situation.
The blog said that the state-owned company's move is preliminary and doesn't mean the Chinese company has decided to make a counterbid for Potash.
Potash has held discussions with Sinochem, a source close to the matter told Reuters in August.
HSBC was not immediately available for comment. An attempt to reach Sinochem's offices in Houston was unsuccessful.
