A man walks past an HSBC branch in Hong Kong on May 24, 2022. Bertha Wang/Bloomberg
STORY – The group’s largest shareholder, the Chinese insurer Ping An, close to Beijing, is calling for its split.
Will this be enough? HSBC is spending lavishly to try to appease its largest Chinese shareholder, who wants to see it leave the banks of the Thames for Hong Kong. The British banking giant announced on Tuesday the payment of a substantial dividend in respect of 2022 results. It also promised a resumption of share buybacks as well as an upcoming exceptional dividend. HSBC has the means: the first European bank generated 14.82 billion dollars in net profit in 2022 (+ 17.6% over one year).
This generosity aims above all to give pledges to its main shareholder (more than 8%), Ping An, the first Chinese insurer, which calls to question its model. Frustrated at having been deprived of a dividend in 2020 at the request of the Bank of England and having received a small amount in 2021, the Asian giant is asking for the bank to be split.
Read alsoHSBC: shareholder Ping An insists on splitting Asian activities
Ping An wants Western activities to be separated from those carried out in Asia, which are by far the most profitable…
This article is for subscribers only. You have 85% left to discover.
Flash Sale -70%
Offer available until February 28. Without engagement.
Already subscribed? Login