All posts tagged: securities trading

HSBC spinoff: Bank’s top execs face tense shareholders in Hong Kong calling for a breakup

HSBC spinoff: Bank’s top execs face tense shareholders in Hong Kong calling for a breakup

Hong Kong CNN  —  HSBC’s top brass defended their strategy Monday to frustrated shareholders in the lender’s largest market, as Europe’s biggest bank continued to face calls to be split up. At an informal shareholder meeting in Hong Kong, Chairman Mark Tucker and CEO Noel Quinn took questions from investors on issues ranging from how the bank was approaching demands for an overhaul of its business to its purchase of Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm. In prepared remarks, Tucker and Quinn each reiterated the board’s recommendation that shareholders vote against a resolution on the docket for its annual general meeting in May that would force the bank to come up with a plan to spin off or reorganize its Asian business — the lender’s main source of profits. Tucker said the board was unanimous in its opposition to the resolution, stating plainly: “It would not be in your interest to split the bank.” He said the board had previously reviewed a range of options for restructuring the bank, and concluded that such alternatives would “materially …

China Renaissance suspends trading, delays results after founder Bao Fan goes missing

China Renaissance suspends trading, delays results after founder Bao Fan goes missing

Hong Kong CNN  —  China Renaissance, a top dealmaker in the country’s tech industry, said it would suspend trading of its shares and delay the release of its annual results because it still can’t get in touch with its founder. Bao Fan, 52, started the boutique investment bank in 2005 and has been unreachable since the middle of February, according to the company. Shares in China Renaissance have plunged since Bao went missing, at one point dropping as much as 50%. China Renaissance said in late February that it had learned Bao was “cooperating in an investigation” being carried out by certain authorities in the country. It gave no other details. Chinese media have reported Bao might be assisting in an investigation related to a former executive at China Renaissance. In a filing on Sunday, China Renaissance said auditors couldn’t complete their work or sign off on their report because of Bao’s absence. The board was also unable to give an estimate about when it would be able to approve its audited results for 2022 …