Chinese insurance giant Ping An has become the second-biggest shareholder in the UK’s largest bank, by acquiring an additional 10 million shares in HSBC via the former’s asset management arm.

The Financial Times, citing Ping An’s Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing, said the insurer’s stake has gone up from 4.96% to 5.01% following its investment worth about £7.3 billion (SGD$13.2 billion) – surpassing the 5% threshold which triggered a disclosure filing.

“HSBC’s business performance is excellent and its dividends are good,” said Ping An, as quoted by the report. “This complements the assets and liabilities matching principles of Ping An Asset Management’s insurance funds.”

In terms of HSBC shareholding, Ping An – described as the world’s biggest insurer by market capitalisation – follows BlackRock, which reportedly owns a 6.8% stake.   

According to Reuters, the Chinese company upped its HSBC shareholding by purchasing Hong Kong-listed shares via the cross-boundary Stock Connect programme.


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