HSBC agrees sale of insurance businesses to AXA and QBE

HSBC, and its 62 percent owned subsidiary Hang Seng Bank, have agreed to sell their general insurance businesses in Hong Kong, Singapore, Argentina and Mexico.

HSBC Insurance (Asia) Limited, HSBC Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Limited and HSBC Seguros, S.A de C.V., Grupo Financiero HSBC, all wholly-owned subsidiaries of HSBC Holdings plc, have entered into agreements to sell their general insurance portfolios in Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico, respectively, to AXA.

HSBC Argentina Holdings S.A., and HSBC Participaciones (Argentina) S.A., each wholly-owned subsidiaries of HSBC Holdings plc, have entered into an agreement to sell HSBC Argentina Holdings S.A.'s general insurance manufacturing subsidiary, HSBC La Buenos Aires Seguros S.A., to QBE.

“This is a further step in the execution of our strategy,” said Stuart Gulliver, group chief executive officer of HSBC. “It will enable us to focus our capital and resources on the growth of our core businesses, including the building of our broader wealth management capabilities.

“These long term collaborations with AXA and QBE will broaden and strengthen the suite of general insurance products available to our retail banking and commercial banking customers in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Argentina.”