HK's Two Biggest Banks Record Declined Profits

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, August 06, 2002

HK's Two Biggest Banks Record Declined Profits

Hong Kong's two biggest banks, HSBC and Hang Seng, recorded drops of attributable profits by 10.2percent and 2.9 percent for the first half of 2002 amid market difficulty.

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Hong Kong's two biggest banks, HSBC and Hang Seng, recorded drops of attributable profits by 10.2percent and 2.9 percent for the first half of 2002 amid market difficulty.

Announcing its 2002 interim results, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC), the biggest bank in Hong Kong,reported a decline of 10.3 percent of attributable profit to 12.75billion HK dollars (1.63 billion US dollars).

Provisions for bad and doubtful debt soared to 1.28 billion HK dollars (164.1 million dollars) from 595 million HK dollars (76.3 million dollars) in the same period last year, according to the bank.

HSBC Holdings, parent company of the bank, recorded a pre-tax profit of 5,057 million dollars for the first half of 2002, a decrease of 7 percent compared with the same period of last year.

Profit attributable to shareholders was 3,280 million dollars, a decrease of 7 percent, according to HSBC Holdings, the largest banking group in Europe.

"The outlook for Asia remains challenging amid continuing uncertainties," said David Eldon, chairman of the HSBC. "In Hong Kong, weak asset prices and high unemployment are likely to constrain domestic demand and investment."

Eldon said that the HSBC will continue to implement the "Managing for Value" strategy by holding down costs, growing the wealth management businesses and focusing on customer service across all lines of business.

Meanwhile, the HSBC's subsidiary Hang Seng Bank, the second largest local bank, reported that its attributable profit slipped 2.9 percent to 5.22 billion HK dollars (669.2 million dollars).

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