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Will he? Won't he? And does it matter?

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Yesterday the Financial Times newspaper caused a brief stir in banking and financial circles when it reported that HSBC Holdings' new chief executive Stuart Gulliver would not be moving to Hong Kong.

The report appeared to signal an abrupt about-turn for the banking giant, which late in 2009 announced with great fanfare that it was moving its chief executive's office from London to Hong Kong.

HSBC was quick to deny the story, issuing a statement which insisted the Financial Times report was 'entirely incorrect'.

'The group CEO's principal office moved to Hong Kong in 2009,' it declared, 'and nothing whatsoever has changed.'

The statement is undoubtedly correct that nothing has changed. But that's because the previous chief executive's much-trumpeted relocation to Hong Kong was little more than a public relations move in the first place.

At the time HSBC was trumpeting its profitability and potential growth in Asia's fast-rebounding markets.

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