HSBC investors reject special resolutions on dividends, strategy

HSBC’s board had recommended investors vote against the two resolutions tabled by Ken Lui, leader of the Spin Off HSBC Asia Concern Group.

HSBC Holdings Plc shareholders voted to reject proposals to shake up the bank that were put forward by a group of Hong Kong-based investors.

Indicative results from Friday’s annual meeting show that about a fifth of voting investors backed the call for HSBC to report regularly on the possibility of carving out its Asian unit, while 19.2% supported lifting its dividend to its pre-pandemic level.

With only around half of shareholders typically voting at such meetings, the results suggests that much of the support came from Ping An Insurance Group Co., which owns about 8% of the bank and has spent the past year battling with HSBC to enact a series of reforms, including spinning off its Asian arm.

HSBC’s board had recommended investors vote against the two resolutions tabled by Ken Lui, leader of the Spin Off HSBC Asia Concern Group. Independent shareholder advisory groups Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass, Lewis & Co. also advised their clients not to back the motions.

Ken Lui’s special resolutions:

(1) THAT HSBC do devise, implement and report quarterly on a plan and strategy aiming at increasing its value by structural reforms including but not limited to spinning off, strategic reorganisation and restructuring its Asia businesses.

(2) THAT HSBC do devise and implement a long-term and stable dividend policy that for and as long as there are sufficient distributable profits, HSBC should distribute dividends to its members at the pre-Covid-19 pandemic level i.e. not less than US$0.51 per share per annum (to be paid quarterly).