Chinese insurer Ping An made its most public statements thus far about its push for an HSBC breakup with co-chief Jessica Tan stressing that the proposal is about long-term returns and not activism.
Ping An is not backing down from its call to break up HSBC via a spinoff after the British lender rejected the proposal during its first-half earnings release earlier this month, citing risks to its credit rating, tax and operating costs in the long-term alongside a one-off execution cost.
«It is a significant investment and we’ve invested in it for 7 years,» according to a «Reuters» report citing Ping An co-CEO Jessica Tan on its stake in the bank. «We care much about long-term returns. We are not an activist investor.»
Ping An is HSBC’s largest shareholder with an 8.3 percent stake, according to Refinitv data.
Persistent Pursuit
Ping An is set on maintaining the breakup debate and reportedly believes that HSBC overstated the risks behind a restructuring.
Citing external analysis, Ping An estimates that a spin-off would generate an extra $25-35 billion in market value and release over $8 billion in capital. This compares to a separate Toto Consultancy report commissioned by Ping An that estimates $26.5 billion of potential market value that could be unlocked from such a restructuring.
