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Ping An Insurance Group made its first public statements about HSBC on Monday as it pushes for a potential break-up of the biggest of Hong Kong's currency-issuing banks.
The Shenzhen-based company, which is HSBC's biggest shareholder with a reportedly 9.2 per cent of the lender's shares, has privately approached HSBC's board of directors about spinning off the bank's Asia business for a separate listing in Hong Kong, according to media reports.
"We support a debate about the future of the bank," a Ping An spokesperson said. "We want shareholders to participate in the debate and to propose solutions for HSBC. Ping An supports all reforms and proposals from investors that can help HSBC's operations and long-term growth."
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The public statements by China's biggest insurer came just days after the London-based bank defended its strategy, arguing that its global scope linking trade and business from the East to West is the best way forward for the 157-year-old institution, which traces its roots to Hong Kong and Shanghai.
"We believe we've got the right strategy and are focused on executing it," an HSBC spokeswoman said on Friday. "Delivering on this strategy is the fastest way to generate higher returns and maximise shareholder value."
The lender's CEO, Noel Quinn, has doubled down on Asia in the past year, announcing a plan to shift US$6 billion from underperforming businesses in Europe and the United States to growth businesses in the region. That includes sales of its American mass-market retail business and its French retail bank.
Part of that push is a greater focus on the long-term prospect of rising incomes in the Greater Bay Area and other parts of Asia.
HSBC has ramped up hiring in its wealth business in China and is set to take full control of its mainland insurance joint venture, HSBC Life China, and increased its stake in its Chinese securities joint venture, HSBC Qianhai Securities. It has also acquired AXA's insurance business in Singapore and L&T Investment Management in India.
HSBC CEO Noel Quinn Photo: HSBC Holdings/AFP alt=HSBC CEO Noel Quinn Photo: HSBC Holdings/AFP>
Asia accounted for two thirds of its pre-tax profit in the first quarter, but Quinn said at the bank's annual meeting on Friday that its global span remained important to underlying performance.