HSBC to Unveil Accelerated Asia Pivot
London-headquartered HSBC is set to announce its annual results on Wednesday this week. Further details about its strategy are expected to be unveiled, including an accelerated pivot to Asia.
On February 19, HSBC will report its full-year financial results for 2024. The bank previously said it would provide further details on its ongoing overhaul, which has seen a global restructuring and job cuts. According to a «Financial Times» report, $1.5 billion in savings after one-off costs will also be announced.
Asia is expected to play an even more central role for HSBC, which has long touted its pivot to the region. The British lender has already made exits in various markets, including France, Canada and Argentina. In the latest, it announced a decision to wind down its M&A and some equities businesses in Europe and the Americas.
Wealth Management Focus
HSBC has already made a number of recent moves to expand in Asia with a focus on wealth management.
In January, it opened a new office in India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), boasting 12,550 square feet of space and a full spectrum of capabilities, including wealth services to premier and private banking clients. In the same month, it announced the launch of a flagship wealth center in Malaysia to serve high net worth clients in the Southeast Asian nation.
«The restructuring doesn’t change the fundamentals,» said Lok Yim, HSBC’s APAC head of global private banking in a recent interview with finews.asia. «We will be celebrating our 160th anniversary in Hong Kong this year. We have always been the bank for Asian wealth and 160 years from now, we will continue to do the same. HSBC will continue to focus on Asian wealth and we will build on the investments we’ve made in Asia.»
Pivot to China
Within Asia, China, including Hong Kong, will be the most important market for HSBC moving forward, in light of a retreat from the West. This was made especially apparent by chairman Mark Tucker during a visit to Beijing to attend the UK-China Financial Services Summit last month.
«It is more important than ever that we accelerate and sustain the forward momentum with a clear focus on the material and mutually beneficial agenda,» he told Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and others at the opening of the event.
