Hang Seng investment arm to merge with HSBC’s asset business: sources

[HONG KONG] HSBC will merge Hang Seng Bank’s asset management unit into its fund business, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday (Oct 26), after the London-based bank took the Hong Kong lender private in a US$13.6 billion deal.

The planned deal will have HSBC Asset Management, which manages investment assets of about US$876 billion, absorb Hang Seng Investment Management, which has US$50 billion in assets, the two people said.

Both people declined to be named as the plan is not yet public. HSBC and Hang Seng did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The proposed merger would mark the first business-line integration between the two banks, despite HSBC’s earlier pledge to maintain two independent brands.

In October 2025, HSBC launched a take-private bid for Hang Seng, which faced mounting bad loans due to its heavy exposure to Hong Kong and mainland Chinese property markets. Previously, HSBC owned 63 per cent of Hang Seng.

The deal was completed in January.

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HSBC, which makes the bulk of its profits in Asia, has appointed cross-bank leaders to oversee several corporate functions that it has in common with Hang Seng.

Hang Seng runs the Tracker Fund, Hong Kong’s largest exchange-traded fund that tracks the benchmark Hang Seng Index, a prominent product in the city’s Mandatory Provident Fund pension programme. REUTERS