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☆ Alibaba and more: Morgan Stanley names 5 global stocks with at least 50% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Morgan Stanley expects five of its top Asia stock picks to rise by more than 50% over the next 12 months. Alibaba Alibaba Group, the Chinese technology giant that's also listed in the United States, is making significant progress in its restructuring process, according to Morgan Stanley. "The likelihood of generics being immediately released in May 2024 is low," Morgan Stanley analysts Shinichiro Muraoka and Jaeheon Lee said in a note to clients on June 12. Sea Despite the challenges from inflation and post-pandemic economic reopenings, Morgan Stanley still sees long-term potential in Sea Limited . JD.com Morgan Stanley highlighted JD.com , a leading Chinese e-commerce company, for its potential growth as Chinese consumer spending picks up.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley's, Morgan, Gary Yu, Astellas, Astellas Pharma Morgan Stanley, Shinichiro Muraoka, Jaeheon Lee, JD.com Morgan Stanley, Eddy Wang, Ping, Jenny Jiang Organizations: Asia, Alibaba, Street, Astellas Pharma, Ping An Insurance Locations: Asia, Asia Pacific, Japan, China, India, United States, U.S, Singapore

☆ HSBC vote gives Ping An a fresh shove towards exit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Ping An Insurance (601318.SS) is having an underwhelming week. Instead, HSBC’s results were decent and the AGM resolution was crushed. True, 20% of votes cast went in favour of plans for a strategic review each quarter which could assess whether to spin off HSBC’s key Asian arm, and to reinstate the bank’s pre-Covid dividend. Ping An could continue to chunter away at HSBC boss Noel Quinn from the sidelines. Throw in the lack of investor support implied by the vote, and Ping An’s essential choice – to pipe down or to sell its stake – has become ever more stark.

☆ It’s time HSBC’s top owner calms down or sells up
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Sticking around as a noisy unhappy owner with an 8% stake, though, risks hurting itself, HSBC and maybe even Hong Kong. A vote on Friday at HSBC’s annual meeting will test whether Ping An has garnered much support for its stance. A second resolution from the group wants the pre-Covid dividend reinstated and paid at not less than that level each year. Chances are both resolutions will pick up some votes, the latter especially from retail shareholders who globally between them own about one-third of the bank. If any large institutional investment houses join the Chinese group, it will be a blow to HSBC boss Noel Quinn.

HSBC posted a pretax profit of $12.9 billion for the quarter ended March, versus $4.2 billion a year earlier. HSBC said the planned $10 billion sale, originally slated to be completed by the end of this year, will now only likely go through in the first quarter of 2024. HSBC reported deposits fell 0.6% to $1.6 trillion, excluding those it acquired by bailing out the UK arm of failed U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank and the reclassification of French retail deposits. Despite the surging profit, HSBC did not raise its key performance target of a return on tangible equity of at least 12% from this year onwards, which analysts were anticipating. Reporting by Selena Li ing Kong Kong and Lawrence White in London; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said the results showed its strengths in a rising rate environment, and played down the risks of further contagion for the banking sector. HSBC posted a pretax profit of $12.9 billion for the quarter ended March, versus $4.2 billion a year earlier. The profit was much higher than the $8.64 billion average estimate of 17 analysts compiled by the bank. Despite the surging profit, HSBC did not raise its key performance target of reaching a return on tangible equity of at least 12% from this year onwards, while analysts were estimating the key metric would be lifted. Reporting by Selena Li ing Kong Kong and Lawrence White in London; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HONG KONG, May 2 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) reported on Tuesday a better than expected tripling of quarterly profit, as rising interest rates worldwide boosted the lender's income and helped it pay a first quarterly dividend since 2019. Europe's largest bank posted a pretax profit of $12.9 billion for the first quarter ended March, versus $4.2 billion a year earlier. The results were better than the $8.64 billion average estimate of 17 analysts compiled by HSBC. It announced a dividend of $0.10 per share, its first quarterly dividend since 2019, following calls of shareholders to increase the dividend payout. Reporting by Selena Li ing Kong Kong and Lawrence White in London; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Jumping on the China bandwagon? Analyst reveals whether A-shares or H-shares are a better bet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

But the euphoria around the reopening has since tapered off, with several key benchmarks in Hong Kong and mainland China paring some of their gains since the beginning of the year. The pullback could be a good opportunity for investors to buy Chinese stocks at more palatable prices, according to Bernstein analyst Rupal Agarwal. A-shares are shares of publicly listed Chinese companies that trade on Chinese stock exchanges. The trading of H-shares is done on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong dollars. Given China's strict capital controls, A-shares are generally available for trading only to mainland Chinese citizens, while H-shares are more freely tradeable.

"We feel it's the right thing to do by allowing all shareholders to vote on such critical issues rather than keeping it away from the voting process," Lui told Reuters. Ping An in November urged HSBC to lower costs by cutting jobs and disposing of peripheral non-Asian businesses. "The shareholders will need to demonstrate that the requisition is valid before it can be formally accepted," a spokesperson for HSBC said. HSBC's other institutional shareholders, particularly in Britain, have so far shown little appetite for a break-up. Lui told Reuters that HSBC has requested both proposals to be submitted as 'special' resolutions, which he said shows the lender is "very worried" that the proposal will be passed.

The London-headquartered bank (HSBA.L) said on Tuesday it would pay a special dividend of $0.21 per share, from the proceeds of the $10 billion sale of its Canada business. HSBC's conservative outlook echoed that of British rival NatWest (NWG.L), which warned last week that profit earned from rising interest rates may have peaked. HSBC said annual expected credit losses rose to $3.6 billion, more than the $3.2 billion analysts had estimated, due to rising inflation pressuring borrowers and lingering problems in China's property market. That matched the $17.5 billion average estimate of 22 analysts compiled by the bank. Meanwhile, HSBC said it still expects to complete the sale of its Russia business in first-half 2023, taking a $300 million loss.

But some analysts had expected HSBC to also raise its key performance target of reaching a return on tangible equity of at least 12% from this year onwards, a target the bank stuck to in its earnings report. Meanwhile, HSBC said it still expects to complete the sale of its Russia business in first-half 2023, taking a $300 million loss. So far this year, the shares have risen 20% versus a 7% rise in the FTSE index (.FTSE). HSBC said annual expected credit losses rose to $3.6 billion, more than the $3.2 billion analysts had estimated, due to rising inflation pressuring borrowers and lingering problems in China's property market. Despite the fourth-quarter surge, annual profit fell to $17.5 billion from $18.9 billion for 2021, due to an impairment of $2.4 billion related to the sale of its retail banking operations in France.

Uncertainty about HSBC’s strategy for serving in both China and the West is amplified by disagreements with Ping An. LONDON—For nearly a year, HSBC Holdings PLC has openly come under pressure from its top shareholder, Ping An Insurance Co., in a standoff that pits Europe’s largest bank against China’s largest insurance company. The source of the rift dates back years, interviews with people familiar with the matter, including people familiar with developments at both companies, suggest.

☆ Can Chinese stocks rally further? One investment bank thinks so — and names its top stock picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The recovery in Chinese stocks gained steam on Monday, as China's benchmark index came within striking distance of a bull market. Chinese stocks have been buoyed by Beijing's easing of Covid-19 restrictions and a waning regulatory crackdown. "We started the year with an overweight call on China, and while that is a consensus view, there are now concerns on China rally being too sharp/too quick. The extreme inflows in the past 3 months, indeed, pose a threat to the continuity of market rally for next 3 months," Bernstein analyst Rupal Agarwal wrote in a note on Jan. 27. Bernstein's screen for undervalued stocks that have underperformed the market rally tuned up a raft of names.

☆ Factbox: Global banks cut jobs as cost pressures mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The British investment bank has performed well in recent quarters, especially in fixed income trading, but a blunder in the United States that saw it sell more securities than permitted has cost it hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties. CITIGROUPCiti (C.N) eliminated dozens of jobs across its investment banking division, as a dealmaking slump continues to weigh on Wall Street's biggest banks, Bloomberg News reported on Nov. 8. The cost savings reported are likely to involve more job cuts than previously announced for the first wave of reductions, including in its wealth business, Reuters reported. DEUTSCHE BANKDeutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Germany's largest bank, cut staff in its investment bank's origination and advisory teams in October, in a move than affected mostly junior bankers. MORGAN STANLEY (MS.N)In December, the investment bank slashed about 2% of its workforce, a source familiar with the company's plans told Reuters.

☆ HSBC's disgruntled shareholders launch new campaign for spinoff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The bank's management was "turning a deaf ear to the voice of minority shareholders," he said. Shareholders including Lui began pushing for the spinoff earlier this year. Hong Kong is HSBC's biggest market and home to a large number of retail shareholders who formerly benefited from the bank's once stable dividend payments. HSBC has resumed paying a dividend but not quarterly, and retail investors are dissatisfied with payouts that, overall, are smaller than before. Analysts have said retail shareholders are unlikely to have the heft to eventually force a vote on a break-up.

HSBC "underperforms its peers, violates dividend commitments (and) ignores shareholders' interests," Ken Lui, convener of the group , said in a Thursday newspaper advertisement. London-headquartered HSBC, which is opposed to breaking up its business, dismissed the possibility of the proposal gaining traction among large shareholders. Hong Kong is HSBC's biggest market and home to many retail shareholders. DIVIDEND SUSPENSIONHong Kong retail shareholders were particularly upset when HSBC scrapped its formerly stable dividend in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Bank of England asked lenders to conserve capital. It has resumed paying a dividend but not quarterly, and retail investors are dissatisfied with payouts that, overall, are smaller than before.

☆ FTSE Russell, Ping An jointly launch China ESG indexes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHANGHAI, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Global index publisher FTSE Russell and Chinese financial conglomerate Ping An announced a partnership on Thursday to promote sustainable investment, launching a series of China indexes integrating environmental, social and government (ESG) considerations. The FTSE Ping An China ESG Index Series, which combines Ping An's China-specific ESG approach into FTSE Russell's China indexes, shows how Chinese and western institutions can join hands in sustainable investment, despite tensions over sensitive areas such as human rights and Communist Party control. The initial index launch will target onshore investors, but the multi-year partnership aims to ultimately serve international investors as well, said FTSE Russell, a unit of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L). "It's really about leveraging the market-specific insights" that Ping An brings, said Helena Fung, Head of Sustainable Investment, APAC at FTSE Russell. In China, however, internet censorship is not factored into ESG considerations by domestic institutions.

☆ Factbox: Global banks take axe to jobs as cost pressures mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Banks typically trim jobs towards the end of the year, but 2022 has seen a bigger wave of redundancies and layoffs. Rising cost pressures as a result of inflation and shrinking revenues in many core business lines amid volatile markets are making bank bosses nervous about profitability in 2023. CITIGROUPCiti (C.N) eliminated dozens of jobs across its investment banking division, as a dealmaking slump continues to weigh on Wall Street's biggest banks, Bloomberg News reported on Nov.8. CREDIT SUISSECredit Suisse (CSGN.S) is accelerating cost cuts announced just weeks ago, Chairman Axel Lehmann said on Dec. 2, confirming a Reuters report, as the bank races to slash its cost base by around 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.68 billion). DEUTSCHE BANKDeutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Germany's largest bank, cut staff in its investment bank's origination and advisory teams in October, in a move than affected mostly junior bankers.

The global job cuts at the London-headquartered bank will fall across several business units and geographical locations and result in the loss of at least 200 positions, mostly with the title of Chief Operating Officer (COO), the sources said. HSBC, which used to position itself as the world's local bank, employs many COOs because country and business lines have their own separate COO, the sources said. The lender has been shrinking its sprawling global business for several years, downsizing in many regions and exiting some countries entirely as it tries to improve shareholder returns. The initiative, codenamed Project Banyan, follows HSBC's last major redundancy plan in 2020, which targeted up to 35,000 job cuts globally across all staffing levels. Three separate sources confirmed job cuts were underway, as HSBC joins a chorus of other western banks axing staff as a bleak global economic outlook weighs on business, consumer and investment banking revenues.

☆ Asset manager names 9 'cheap' stocks to buy as recession fears grow
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

I don't think people realize just how inverted the 2-10 year [Treasury yield] is at the moment, which is really historically a strong signal of an imminent recession," Glass told "Squawk Box Asia" on Monday. 'Cheap' stocks to buy In this environment, Glass selected nine stocks that he said, "look particularly cheap given their growth outlook." His favorites are major U.S. discount retailer Dollar General , investment company 3i whose largest asset is European discount retailer Action, and B & M Value Retail. On 3i, he noted that Action accounts for 50% of its investment portfolio, and the discount retailer is a "beneficiary of rich-poor divide" and consumers trading down. He also said that Action is "recession and inflation resistant," with an attractive valuation at a more-than 20% discount to its net asset value.

[1/2] HSBC logo is seen on a branch bank in the financial district in New York, U.S., Aug. 7, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoLONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) has agreed to sell its business in Canada to Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) for $13.5 billion Canadian dollars ($10.04 billion) in cash. Chinese insurance company Ping An Insurance Group has been pushing HSBC to split off its Asian business to boost returns. "We decided to sell following a thorough review of the business, which assessed its relative market position within the Canadian market and its strategic fit within the HSBC portfolio," Chief Executive Noel Quinn said. Analysts had valued HSBC's Canada business in the range of C$8 billion to C$10 billion.

☆ HSBC’s Top Shareholder Steps Up Pressure for Big Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Josh Mitchell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HSBC says Ping An’s criticism of the bank is based on statistics that didn’t include its performance in recent quarters. LONDON— HSBC Holdings PLC’s top shareholder called for a radical reorganization of the banking giant—including possibly selling a chunk of its business—to boost its profits and flagging share price. Ping An Insurance Co. of China called for slashing the bank’s costs and accelerating a shift in capital and personnel to Asia, in comments distributed to media outlets Friday. The insurer—which owns 8.3% of HSBC shares, more than any other investor—also said it would potentially support spinning off part of the company.

☆ Ping An urges HSBC to make aggressive cost cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] The company logo of Ping An Insurance is seen in Beijing, China, Aug. 27, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas PeterHONG KONG, Nov 4 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings shareholder Ping An has urged the lender to cut costs aggressively and exit sub-scale non-Asian markets as the Chinese insurer pushes harder for the bank to spin off its Asia operation. HSBC should be "more aggressive in radically reducing costs" and consider layoffs, Ping An Asset Management, the bank's largest shareholder and a wholly-owned unit of Ping An Insurance (601318.SS), said in a statement on Friday. Reporting by Selena Li Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ HSBC top shareholder Ping An urges aggressive cost cuts, renews spin-off push
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HSBC should be "more aggressive in radically reducing costs" and consider layoffs, Ping An Asset Management (Ping An AM), the bank's largest shareholder and a wholly-owned unit of Ping An Insurance (601318.SS), said in a statement on Friday. The statement on Friday marks Ping An AM's first public comments on the subject. Ping An AM said cost reduction was "urgent and absolutely needed" for the bank to improve performance, suggesting HSBC should consider layoffs and cuts in expenses at headquarters. HSBC said in a statement it had kept a tight grip on costs by driving greater efficiencies across the organisation. "We will support any initiatives including a spin-off that are conducive to improve HSBC's performance and value; we will consider any suggestions that will help HSBC improve its development and operation strategy," Ping An AM said.

A logo of HSBC is seen on its headquarters at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China August 4, 2020. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSince his return to HSBC in September, Elhedery has been working on projects for Quinn. He is one of several Lebanese bankers to rise to the top ranks at HSBC, including his predecessor heading the investment bank, Samir Assaf. Shares of Hong Kong-listed HSBC, which makes the bulk of its sales and profit in Asia, fell 2.5% in a firm broader market (.HSI). "This is about how the group executive committee is positioned with potential succession options for the future," Quinn told Reuters.

A logo of HSBC is seen on its headquarters at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China August 4, 2020. The London-headquartered bank posted a pretax profit of $3.15 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30. That was down from $5.4 billion a year ago, but well above the $2.45 billion average of analyst estimates compiled by the bank. "We remain on track to achieve our cost targets for 2022 and 2023," said Noel Quinn, HSBC's Chief Executive Officer. It said it would do this by the first half of next year by increasing revenue and managing costs.

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