A Hong Kong politician has spoken out in support of Ping An’s breakup proposal, urging the British lender to add an executive from the Chinese insurance giant to its board.
On Sunday just one day before HSBC was set to release its second quarter results, a Hong Kong politician backed Ping An’s breakup proposal in a social media post.
«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,» said Christine Fong, a district council member in Hong Kong. «We suffered the 2020 cancel dividend lesson, that's why we strongly support Ping An should take seats in director board of HSBC.»
According to Fong, the proposal was supported by «more than 500 HSBC retail investors».
Judgement Day
HSBC will announce its results later today and is expected to deliver its pushback against Ping An’s proposal after working with London-based boutique investment bank Robey Warshaw and its retained corporate advisor Goldman Sachs to formulate a defense.
The bank is expected to argue that its future depends on its global network of clients and services and may reportedly respond to Ping An’s call by accelerating its exit from non-core markets and deployment of additional capital in Asia.
