KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
HSBC Holdings has announced a significant restructuring, splitting its geographic operations into East and West divisions under the leadership of new CEO Georges Elhedery. The revamp also includes the appointment of Pam Kaur as the bank’s first female Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
The restructuring merges some of HSBC's commercial and investment banking operations and aims to streamline leadership, creating four business lines: UK, Hong Kong, corporate and institutional banking, and wealth banking. The Eastern Markets division will cover Asia Pacific and the Middle East, while the Western Markets division will encompass Continental Europe, the Americas, and the UK (excluding retail banking).
Elhedery said the overhaul would "unleash our full potential" and emphasized the need to bolster cooperation between divisions. By combining commercial and investment banking — except in Hong Kong and the UK — HSBC aims to boost cross-selling to its 1.2 million business clients.
HSBC, which has been reducing its Western operations to focus on Asia, faces growing pressure on earnings growth as interest rates fall. The bank did not disclose expected cost savings or job impacts, but details may emerge with the upcoming third-quarter results on Oct 29.
While the overhaul was described as sweeping, some analysts noted that it does not fully address the broader issue of maintaining profits as rates decline. HSBC shares remained little changed, down 0.04%, trailing the performance of Europe’s STOXX banking index, which has risen 33% over the past year.
In addition to restructuring, HSBC announced senior management changes, cutting its executive committee from 18 members to 12. Greg Guyett, CEO of global banking and markets, will take on a newly created role, and Colin Bell, head of Europe, and Stephen Moss, head of the Middle East, will leave the bank.
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