China’s Ping An announced over the weekend that it had boosted its stake in HSBC as a «long-term investment» in the midst of the sell-off following the «FinCEN Files» release.
Ping An bought 10.8 million HSBC shares at an average price of HK$28.2859 on September 23, a $39 million stock purchase, according to exchange filings.
«All we have said previously is HSBC is a long-term investment,» a Ping An spokesperson said.
Following the 10.8 million shares bought via its investment arm, Ping An Asset Management, China’s largest insurer has now increased its stake in HSBC from 7.95 percent to 8 percent.
25-Year Low
Ping An’s purchase comes at a time of turmoil for the British lender which has seen its share price plummet nearly 54 percent this year, wiping out over $80 billion in market value. HSBC has been facing multiple headwinds including a challenging pandemic, a Huawei scandal, scrutiny over public support for the national security law in Hong Kong alongside a major job-cutting exercise.
More recently, the release of the «FinCEN Files» unveiled in greater details about HSBC's financial dealings with sanctioned individuals and criminal suspects, leading its share price to dive as low as HK$27.50 – a 25-year low.
The Hong Kong-listed Ping An first began to add a stake in HSBC in 2016 as part of its insurance investments and reached 5 percent ownership in December 2017, at which point it was required to make public disclosures.
