HSBC set to face Hong Kong shareholders amid Ping An battle

HSBC Holdings executives and directors will do something next week that they haven't done in 3 years: meet their Hong Kong shareholders face-to-face. The Tuesday (Aug 2) meeting could be a tense one, with shareholders saying they'll quiz the bank on dividends, relocations and the push from largest shareholder, Ping An Insurance Group, to consider a break-up.

Christine Fong, a Hong Kong politician who represents 500 small investors in HSBC stock, will attend. Fong supports Ping An taking board seats and for the bank to make Hong Kong its home base once again.

The push for HSBC to relocate is comparable to Alibaba Group Holding seeking a primary listing in Hong Kong, according to Fong. "Alibaba is seeking a primary listing in Hong Kong," said Fong. "Why not HSBC?"

Noel Quinn, HSBC's chief executive officer, will host the shareholder meeting alongside Chairman Mark Tucker. Neither has talked directly about Ping An's campaign, but the bank has signalled that it wants to stick to its current structure while continuing a pivot to Asia.

In a notice published on HSBC's website this month inviting investors to the informal meeting, the bank said it would provide attendees with an "update on group strategy". The wording is a shift from previous get-togethers with Hong Kong investors, which were billed as an opportunity to discuss the bank's results and "other matters of interest".

The change may reflect pressure the bank is under from Ping An, which has spent the past few months waging a behind-the-scenes campaign to force HSBC to consider a radical overhaul of its strategy.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Dividends anger

Hong Kong-based shareholders make up around a third of HSBC's investor base and are arguably the most important single bloc of stock on the bank's share register. Many were enraged in 2020 when in the early months of the Covid pandemic HSBC, along with every other major UK bank, cancelled its dividend following a de facto order from the Bank of England.

Simon Yuen, the founder of Surich Asset Management, which manages money for clients who own HSBC shares, said that many investors were disillusioned and were voting with their feet. Quite a few shareholders "are discussing whether to quit or sell off their holdings in HSBC", he said.

Fong said many shareholders were worried that the British authorities would "take charge again" and order HSBC to suspend its dividend. Some local Ping An shareholders who felt they lost out as a result of the insurer not receiving an income from its more than 8 per cent holding in HSBC also support the break up of the bank, Fong added.

'Political factors'

Speaking to Bloomberg in May, Ken Lui, an HSBC shareholder and founder of Hong Kong Investor and Entrepreneur Institute, said breaking out the bank's Asian unit could mean the business is "less affected by political factors and UK regulations".

Next week's meeting will offer HSBC a chance to make the case for keeping the bank's global network. HSBC has commissioned Goldman Sachs Group and advisory firm Robey Warshaw to rebuff Ping An's campaign.

Ping An itself is not expected to make public statements around the results, the first since its proposals for change at HSBC became public. BLOOMBERG