bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Luisa Tam

HSBC chief may have jumped gun with his generous gesture
Lai See wonders if HSBC Holdings chief executive Michael Geoghegan may have made a tactical error in donating his GBP4 million (HK$46.78 million) bonus to charity. 
Geoghegan confirmed at the bank's annual results announcement yesterday that instead of  forgoing the payout, he and his wife decided to pass it on to several children's charities around the world, including some in Hong Kong.
The move followed public wrath over payments to Britain's bank bosses and came after a long squabble between Geoghegan and shareholders over pay.
There was speculation  he made the decision about his bonus before he learned that shareholders had rejected proposals of salary increases of up to 40 per cent for him and group finance director Douglas Flint.  
It's believed shareholders will review the pay issue in the next 12 months.
Nevertheless, in an apparent bid to put a stop to the speculation, the bank boss issued a statement shortly before yesterday's press briefing on the bank's 2009 results.
In it he said: 'Like many people in business generally and within HSBC specifically, my wife and I have anonymously supported educational charities and projects in a number of different countries over the last three decades.' 
Geoghegan further confirmed that 'between now and 2013 I will give up to GBP4 million to charities around the world, including important causes in Hong Kong and in the UK, where I was a resident for six years until January this year.' 
Clearly concerned about ongoing public probing into his private business, he said: 'It is uncomfortable for my wife and  [me] to make public things that we have endeavoured to keep very private and I hope you will understand and respect that I will not be commenting further on this matter.'
It's not known whether any other top executives, expected to get multimillion-pound payouts,  will follow Geoghegan's fine example.
The bank's chairman, Stephen Green,  who spoke via a satellite video link  from London, praised his colleague for his decision. 
Green, who has been one of the most vocal critics of pay practices in the industry, seemed to have softened his stance, saying the industry needed to offer competitive pay and rewards to retain talent.
To show his appreciation for Geoghegan's gesture, Green said at the closing: 'I salute Mike for doing that.'
Lai See salutes you, too!
Red packets with a twist
We're not at all surprised to hear that the simple tradition of giving lai see to children for the New Year has evolved on the mainland into the practice of  giving stocks, bonds and unit trusts instead of money.
Some investment experts say this is an important first step in forming good long-term saving habits. 
We believe it reflects more a brash new sense of self-confidence and a peculiarly warped sense of values.
We can just imagine a conversation between two eight-year-olds about how to spend their New Year's money.
'Hey, why don't we go get some sweets after school?' one asks.
'Sorry, I can't,' the second one replies. 
'My lai see from mum and dad takes 30 years to mature.'  
It makes the world go round
A recent study confirms our long-held suspicion that the Chinese are not only frugal but also the most money-conscious people in the world.
An Ipsos poll  shows that two-thirds of adults in 23 countries (representing 75 per cent of the world's GDP) agree that money is more important to them nowadays than previously. 
We suspect it has a lot to do with the financial crisis.
Those countries with the highest levels of people who believe money is more important now than before  are precisely those  where the people surveyed put the greatest weight  on money as an indicator of success. 
Not surprisingly, China tops the first list, along with South Korea and Japan, at 84 per cent, with India running a close fourth  at 78 per cent.
However, a majority (57 per cent) of  people around the world don't agree that 'money is the best sign of a person's success', with those in Canada (73 per cent), Sweden (72 per cent), Mexico (72 per cent), the Netherlands (71 per cent) and Argentina (70 per cent) leading the way.
The biggest believers that money is the best sign of a person's success are, again not surprisingly, the Chinese (69 per cent), together with South Koreans (also 69 per cent), followed by Indians (67 per cent) and Japanese (63 per cent).
This clearly shows that Asians have got their priorities right.



HSBC, IFC sign US$1 billion facility to support trade financing in emerging markets

Hong Kong US$2.7 billion infrastructure bond offering is undersubscribed

1 in 6 Hongkongers are eyeing home purchase in next 5 years: HSBC survey

HSBC to feature ex-ECB president Draghi and Ark Investment’s Wood at summit in Hong Kong

HSBC

Lai See