KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded to close higher on Wednesday on selective buying of defensive stocks after a volatile trading session. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said consumer products and services stocks lifted the key index higher, overcoming lingering geopolitical concerns. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.08 points to 1,715.56 from yesterday’s close of 1,712.48. The benchmark index, which opened 1.91 points higher at 1,714.39, moved between 1,710.79 and 1,720.59 during the day’s trading. In the broader market, gainers outstripped decliners 550 to 476, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,129 untraded, and 48 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion from 2.94 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion on Tuesday.
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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