Bad timing with the escalating Huawei case led Chinese netizens to jeer at HSBC over a recent Shenzhen branch closure.
Last Friday, China’s banking and insurance regulator in Shenzhen approved HSBC’s request to shut down a branch based in Shenzhen’s northeastern Longgang district, according to a «Caixin» report.
This was part of its normal branch structuring plan, according to the bank, and the broader aim of integrating branch resources to improve operational efficiency and meet customers' digital needs.
But the timing clashes with recent developments in the Huawei incident which has caused such a minor change – the bank has 10 branches in the city and 170 nationwide – to expectedly trigger a wave of applause from mainland China’s netizens.
Removal from Market
China’s online citizens, or netizens, are world-renowned for their nationalistic sentiments and hardline comments in a country with tight censorship laws and practices that limit the visibility and intensity of opposition views.
Upon closure of the single branch, Chinese netizens rushed to applaud the exit, according to a «Global Times» report, and called for HSBC to be sanctioned and removed from the Chinese market.
The branch closure coincides with recent developments in the Huawei scandal involving HSBC with the latest allegations and media reports suggesting the bank could be a co-conspirator that set up the tech giant. According to claims from Huawei layers, HSBC had sufficient knowledge about its dealings with alleged Iran business partner Skycom and that it had used systems for transactions that it knew would be flagged by U.S. authorities rather risk-free alternatives that were readily available.
