HSBC Holdings PLC said it is targeting return on tangible equity for its Asia business that is in the “mid teens,” amid pressure from its top shareholder to improve returns.
Ping An Insurance Group Co (平安保險集團) has criticized the bank’s current model in Asia as being inefficient. It has taken specific aim at the lender’s returns for Asia, which it said stood at 10.5 percent last year, compared with 13.8 percent for its Asian peers on average.
The Chinese firm is also pushing for a separate listing of HSBC’s Asian arm.
Photo: Reuters
In a statement to the exchange, HSBC yesterday reiterated that the group’s ambition is for returns to be at least 12 percent from this year. It is targeting high-single-digit percentage wealth revenue growth, and mid-single-digit percentage lending growth over the medium to long term, the statement said.
HSBC also re-emphasized the importance of its international network.
“We now have an unrivaled international proposition that supports our Asia customers looking to trade with and grow in markets across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, and vice versa,” chief executive officer Noel Quinn said.
About 60 percent of wholesale client business in Asia is cross-border, the lender said in a presentation.
The lender has been pivoting to Asia, selling operations in other parts of the world. It reiterated its commitment to invest about US$6 billion in Asia between 2021 and 2025.
The bank, which counts Hong Kong as its biggest market, has also been diversifying its presence in other markets in the region, amid rising geopolitical tension.
“In addition to our core strength in Hong Kong, we now have growth engines in mainland China, India, Singapore and beyond,” Quinn said.
Wealth is a key to its pivot to Asia, and the bank has been ramping up operations in the mainland and also aims to launch private banking in India in July.
The lender said it would be holding a week-long seminar for investors and analysts in Hong Kong and Singapore to discuss its ambitions.
Rival Standard Chartered PLC is also holding meetings with investors this week.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
RSS