HSBC shares fall
The Government faces paper losses of about $9.95 billion on its stake in HSBC as the banking giant's shares continued to tumble, closing down $5 yesterday at $132.
The largest listed company revealed that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) bought 239.5 million of its Hong Kong dollar denominated shares and 317,269 sterling shares during the market intervention last month.
Based on yesterday's closing prices, the 8.9 per cent holding was valued at about $31.65 billion, compared with about $41.6 billion on August 28, when the intervention ended.
Most transactions took place when the August index futures expired and the share price was about $173, an analyst said.
Since then, HSBC shares have fallen 23.9 per cent amid fears of a slowdown in growth at its European and American franchises and exposure to Asian bad debt.
The HKMA refused to confirm the loss.
