HSBC urged to appoint top shareholder Ping An to its board by Hong Kong politician

District council member Christine Fong in a Facebook post called on HSBC to spin off its Asia business and bring back the bank’s primary listing to Hong Kong

HSBC will meet its Hong Kong shareholders face to face on Tuesday, for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, a day after releasing its first-half earnings

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HSBC is due to report second-quarter earnings on Monday. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 5:55pm, 31 Jul 2022

A Hong Kong politician has urged HSBC spin off its Asia business and appoint representatives of Chinese insurer Ping An to its board, as the global lender prepares to meet Hong Kong shareholders this week.

Ping An Insurance Group, the bank’s biggest shareholder, called on London-headquartered HSBC in April to explore strategic options such as spinning off its mainstay Asian business to unlock greater shareholder value.

Since then, the proposal has won support from some retail investors in Hong Kong who were disgruntled with dual-listed HSBC’s decision to cancel its dividend payment in 2020.

“We would suggest separate out its [HSBC] Asian business for HSBC. Bringing back primary listing in Hong Kong is the best way to protect interest for minority shareholders,” Christine Fong Kwok-shan, a district council member in Hong Kong, said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

District Councillor Christine Fong Kwok-shan pictured in September 2019. Photo: Winson Wong

“We suffered the 2020 cancel dividend lesson, that’s why we strongly support Ping An should take seats in director board of HSBC,” she said.

HSBC derived about 65 per cent of its reported profit before tax in 2021 from Asia, with Hong Kong its biggest market.

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