HSBC Holdings Plc has confirmed to the Global Times that it will relocate four senior executives to Hong Kong from London, a move to show the “importance of the Asia-Pacific region to the long-term growth” of the global bank.
Barry O’Byrne, CEO of Global Commercial Banking, Greg Guyett, Co-CEO of Global Banking and Markets, Nuno Matos, CEO of Wealth and Personal Banking, and Nicolas Moreau, CEO, HSBC Asset Management will be relocating to Hong Kong in the second half of the year, an HSBC spokesperson told the Global Times on Thursday.
This move “reflects the importance of the Asia-Pacific region to the long-term growth plans of businesses and our desire to locate more of our global leadership roles in key growth regions”, the spokesperson said.
HSBC’s corporate prestige in China has waned lately, as it has been embroidered in the political tensions between the US and China, caused by HSBC’s hidden role in assisting the US government to grab Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou.
London-based HSBC’s profits slumped 34 percent on a yearly basis to $8.8 billion in 2020, which the lender attributed to factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic challenges. But Asia is still its strong focus, and the region accounted for 59 percent of the bank’s operating revenues in 2020.
HSBC, however, intends to put more emphasis on the Chinese market as other major global markets are still under the shadow of the pandemic.
Months ago, media reported that the bank would announce a major reshuffle of executives, with many executive roles expected to be relocated to the bank’s historic home base of Hong Kong.
The HSBC spokesperson said the bank is investing significantly in the opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region, and China market is a core part of its long-term growth plans.
The bank will continue to actively support and participate in the opening of China’s financial markets, which is in line with China’s growth priorities.
HSBC
