Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

Tuesday 1 augusT 2017 BUSINESS
A24

As profits rise:

HSBC plans $2B more in share buybacks

By KELVIN CHAN
AP Business Writer
HONG KONG (AP) — HSBC
said Monday it plans to
buy back another $2 billion
in shares after reporting a
strong set of quarterly prof-
its thanks to higher interest
rates that helped fatten
margins for its lending busi-
ness.
The London-based global
bank, which earns most of
its income in Asia, said it
will carry out its latest share
repurchase in the second A man walks past the HSBC building in Hong Kong, Monday,
July 31, 2017. HSBC is reporting that pretax profit rose 12 per-
half of the year, bringing cent in the first half as revenue expanded faster than costs and
the total amount since last higher interest rates fattened margins for its Hong Kong lending
year to $5.5 billion. business.
The bank said second- (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
quarter net profit jumped
by more than half to $3.87 lent start to 2017,” Chief Ex- from improved margins on
billion as revenues grew ecutive Stuart Gulliver said our core deposit bases.”
faster than expenses. in a statement. Interest rates in Hong Kong,
For the first half of the year, “Our three main global one of the bank’s main
net profit rose 10 percent businesses performed well, markets, have risen in line
to $7 billion as revenue generating significant in- with the Federal Reserve’s
adjusted for currency fluc- creases in both reported two increases this year be-
tuations and one-off gains and adjusted profit before cause the city’s currency is
and losses rose 0.8 percent tax, and gaining market pegged to the U.S. dollar.
to $26.1 billion. share in many of the prod- HSBC is carrying out a
In Hong Kong, HSBC shares ucts that are central to our sweeping overhaul to in-
rallied on the news, rising strategy.” crease profitability. That in-
2.6 percent to their highest Chairman Douglas Flint cludes shedding thousands
in nearly three years. said that as central bank of workers and exiting some
“We have made an excel- interest rates edged higher, markets in order to focus
the bank “began to benefit even more on Asia.q