There is something nicely counterintuitive about HSBC’s move to sell its 16 per cent stake in Ping An, the Chinese insurance group. There are not many multinationals – banks or otherwise – that are trying to reduce their exposure to China, despite recent economic concerns. Ping An contributed $450m to HSBC’s first half pre-tax profits,
4 per cent of the total. It generates a return on equity of 16 per cent according to S&P Capital IQ, well ahead of HSBC’s 10 per cent (which is depressed by US legacy assets).
And HSBC does not need the cash. At market prices the stake is worth $9.4bn, which is $7.8bn more than it paid for it in 2002 and 2005 – and $3bn more than the carrying value. JPMorgan Cazenove estimates that the disposal would add 50 basis points to HSBC’s Basel III core tier one capital ratio, taking it to 10.1 per cent. No worries there, then.