The Hong Kong newspaper said a deal - 14 billion yuan (US$1.69 billion) for a 19.9 percent stake - could be announced at a ceremony attended by top bankers and senior government officials in Beijing on Friday.
The paper did not cite any sources for its story. HSBC declined to comment on the report, and executives at the Bank of Communications could not immediately be reached for comment.
Cash-rich overseas financial giants covet a stake in an industrialising China and its $1.3 trillion in savings pool, and several have stepped up investment in the country's financial sector to try to secure a foothold before full liberalisation.
Terms of a purported deal were disclosed in Hong Kong media reports earlier in the week.
Shanghai-based Bank of Communications confirmed months ago that it was in discussions with HSBC, the world's third-largest bank by market value, and other potential investors about selling a stake in China's fifth-largest lender.
An executive said in March that the Chinese bank was seeking foreign investors as a step toward an initial public offering.