HSBC Holdings management has dismissed a Sunday Telegraph report that it is considering quitting London for Hong Kong because of high tax and red tape. 'London continues to be recognised as one of the world's leading international financial centres, a position it has built over many decades through deliberate policy action. We have been very clear that it is our preference to remain headquartered there,' group chairman, Douglas Flint (pictured), and HSBC Holdings chief executive Stuart Gulliver said in a statement. Shareholders and investors were asking about the likely additional cost of being headquartered in Britain because of possible regulatory changes and costs such as the bank levy.