bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Chad Bray

HSBC, in the midst of the latest reorganisation of its worldwide banking operations, has gone on the defensive to fend off its largest shareholder’s call to break up its business.
The London-headquartered bank, which traces its roots to Hong Kong and earns almost two-thirds of its pre-tax profit in Asia, said it has the right strategy as the global financier for trade between the East and the West.
“First and foremost, we remain a global institution serving our clients on a global basis, but [with] particular unique strengths within our global franchise,” the bank’s chief executive Noel Quinn said during its annual shareholders meeting, emphasising HSBC’s worldwide presence. “One of those is Asia, one of those is the Middle East and one of those is the UK.”
HSBC is on the defensive amid media reports that its biggest shareholder Ping An Insurance Group is pushing to spin off the bank’s Asia business for a separate listing in Hong Kong. Bloomberg and the Financial Times reported that Ping An, with an 8.2 per cent stake at the end of March, has held discussions with HSBC’s board, both citing people familiar with the matter.

HSBC would not confirm that it had been approached by Ping An about the break-up, but said it regularly engages with investors and is committed to “maximising value for all our shareholders.” Ping An, based in Shenzhen, declined to comment.
“We believe we’ve got the right strategy and are focused on executing it,” a HSBC spokeswoman said. “Delivering on this strategy is the fastest way to generate higher returns and maximise shareholder value.”


HSBC’s shares have plunged as much as 67 per cent since 2018, but clawed back some of those losses to close at HK$48.55 on Friday in Hong Kong. Even though it has outperformed the benchmark Hang Seng Index over the past year, HSBC’s shares in Hong Kong remain 43 per cent off its January 2018 peak.
The bank’s headquarter is in London even though Europe and the UK contributed to 20 per cent of its 2021 pre-tax profit, while Asia -most of the earnings came from Hong Kong and mainland China – made up 64.8 per cent.
HSBC’s geographic span has landed it in the middle of global geopolitics, particularly the deteriorating US-China relations over a range of thorny issues, from the December 2018 detention of Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, to the bank’s position in China’s controversial national security law for Hong Kong.
China has HSBC in a vice over Hong Kong’s new security law
Another controversy was in 2020 when the bank acceded to a call by the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority – HSBC’s primary regulator – for all banks to suspend their dividends and shareholder buy-backs.
The UK regulator said at the time it wanted to ensure all banks under its purview had enough capital on hand to support the British economy during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
That sent the bank’s stock plunging to a 25-year low, leading to calls by a number of disgruntled Hong Kong investors for the bank’s break-up. The bank reinstated its dividend last year, paying out its final half of its 2021 dividend this week.
Several shareholders have said HSBC should move its headquarters back to Hong Kong – 28 years after its acquisition of Midland Bank and relocation of its base to London. HSBC’s management has repeatedly rejected the idea of moving its headquarters, which it last reviewed in 2015.
As part of its presentation to HSBC’s board, Ping An reportedly referred to the split of the insurer Prudential, which spun off its UK, European and US retirement arms and is now an insurer focused solely on Asia and Africa, the Financial Times reported. UK-based Prudential is listed in both Hong Kong and London and wants to locate its next CEO to Asia.




Even though its stock has recovered from two years ago and is one of the better performing bank stocks globally this year, HSBC’s shares are trading nearly half the value they were at four years ago despite hitting a two-year high in Hong Kong in early February.
Talk of a break-up resurfaced as HSBC is in the middle of its latest pivot to Asia, where it will shift US$6 billion in capital from underperforming businesses in the US and Europe over five years. HSBC is also betting on rising income in the Greater Bay Area and other parts of Asia, as it bulks up its wealth management business.
As part of its revamp, HSBC sold its US mass-market retail banking business and is in the process of completing the sale of its French retail bank.
“We’re the largest trade bank in the world by quite a degree,” Quinn said. “We’re one of largest global payment houses in the world. We’re one of the largest foreign exchange banks in the world.”
“One must recognise that much of that trade and payments activity is into and out of Asia,” he said. “I think we’re uniquely positioned to help, particularly, corporate customers and some of our international retail customers trade between the West and the East and that is what we’ve been doing for 156 years.”
Additional reporting by Enoch Yiu in Hong Kong


HSBC defends its global span to fend off Ping An’s break-up call as it doubles down on its Asia pivot

HSBC branch on Pedder Street in Hong Kong’s Central on 26 April, 2022. Photo: Nora Tam

HSBC’s chief executive Noel Quinn during a panel discussion at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Beijing on Nov. 22, 2019. Photo: Bloomberg

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Banking & Finance

China Business

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Hong Kong Economy


Ping An recommended HSBC spin off Asia business, list in Hong Kong, according to reports
Risk of geopolitical firestorms, dividend suspension two years ago has prompted some investors to call for a split



Ping An Insurance, one of HSBC’s biggest shareholders, recommended the London-based bank spin off Asia business and list in Hong Kong, according to reports.


HSBC defends its global span to fend off Ping An’s break-up call as it doubles down on its Asia pivot

Ping An recommended HSBC spin off Asia business, list in Hong Kong, according to reports Risk of geopolitical firestorms, dividend suspension two years ago has prompted some investors to call for a split

Ping An recommended HSBC spin off Asia business, list in Hong Kong, according to reports

Risk of geopolitical firestorms, dividend suspension two years ago has prompted some investors to call for a split