Last sat ST reported that analysts were saying that Standard Chartered will be forced to relocate its CEO into Asia in imitation of HSBC.
If it does, it will be a test of Temasek protestations that it does not interfere with the commercial decisions of its investee companies. Remember it is the single largest shareholder in SC (195 ), and all the other big shareholders are “peanuts” as Mrs SM might put it.
The logical place for the CEO is to base himself in HK, SC’s biggest market and which is part of China: it and HSBC are targeting China as the biggest driver for growth.
But could Temasek or its shareholder resist the temptation to have SC’s CEO here. Singapore is way behind HK in IPOs, hedge fund HQs (Soros prefers HK as his Asia HQ), fund mgt, and in wealth mgt where S’pore wants to be a global player, the head so HSBC and JP Morgan’s private bank are basing themselves in HK, or thaz what reports are saying.
Already the private bank’s and PE’s global HQs of SC are here, giving SC the perfect excuse for relocating its CEO here.And S’pore’s nearer India, another big driver for SC’s future growth. As to HK and China, he can fly there on SIA, not Cathay, of course.
And relocating here will give our MSM the excuse they need to exult the merits of this government before the expected early general elections. Hard for the MSM to laud the government given the growing inability of ministers to avoid contradicting one another.
Note the news that SC’s CEO will also donate his bonus to charity, came only after it was reported that HSBC’s CEO would donate his. SC is always playing catch up to HSBC. At one time they were the same size, but one is a global player, the other is 19% owned by Temasek. But then OCBC was once on par with HSBC.
I’m a shareholder of HSBC for over 25 yrs.
BTW the relative sizes of both and how both had a gd crisis:
“The ranking three years ago and for most of the preceding few years saw HSBC as the biggest bank, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland chasing its tail, Lloyds some way behind that and Standard Chartered as the enthusiastic, fast-growing puppy.
‘Today HSBC isn’t just the biggest British bank. Its market value of more than £120bn is more than that of all the other four added together. It’s in a league of its own.”
“Today the market value of Standard Chartered, at an almost unbelievable £32bn, is only £2bn less than Lloyds’ and £5bn less than Barclays. And it is £11bn more than RBS (although that’s to ignore all the “B” shares that RBS has flogged to taxpayers).”
Excerpt from http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2010/03/the_new_banking_hierarchy.html
and if you want to read why HSBC and SC did so well a gd read.
Thoughts of a Cynical Investor 