What's behind HSBC's privatisation of Hang Seng Bank? Drive for efficiency, analysts say

HSBC Holdings' plan to take its Hang Seng Bank subsidiary private marked a key step in the UK lender's strategic overhaul, with Hong Kong's troubled property market potentially aiding the move, according to analysts. The proposal on Thursday was "many months" in the making and had "nothing to do with the bad-debt situation" at Hang Seng Bank, HSBC group CEO Georges Elhedery said during a media round table in Hong Kong after the announcement. HSBC currently owns about 63 per cent of the city's largest dome ...