Hang Seng 2004 1st Int Div

HSBC Holdings PLC
04 May 2004

                              HANG SENG ANNOUNCES
                        FIRST INTERIM DIVIDEND FOR 2004

The Board of Directors of Hang Seng Bank today declared a first interim dividend
of HK$1.10 per share in respect of the year ending 31 December 2004.

The first interim dividend will be payable on Tuesday, 8 June 2004, to
shareholders on the Register of Shareholders as at Friday, 28 May 2004.

The Register of Shareholders of the Bank will be closed on Friday, 28 May 2004,
during which no transfer of shares can be registered. To qualify for the first
interim dividend for 2004, all transfers, accompanied by the relevant share
certificates, must be lodged for registration not later than 4:00 pm on
Thursday, 27 May 2004, with the Bank's Registrars, Computershare Hong Kong
Investor Services Limited, at Shops 1712-1716, 17th Floor, Hopewell Centre, 183
Queen's Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong.

The results for the first half of 2004 will be announced on Monday, 2 August
2004.

As announced in 2003, the Board has adopted a policy of paying quarterly
dividends. The proposed timetables for the remaining three quarterly dividends
in respect of 2004 are:

Second interim dividend for 2004

Announcement                        2 August 2004
Book close date                     24 August 2004
Payment date                        2 September 2004

Third interim dividend for 2004

Announcement                        8 November 2004
Book close date                     17 December 2004
Payment date                        5 January 2005

Fourth interim dividend for 2004

Announcement                        28 February 2005
Book close date                     16 March 2005
Payment date                        24 March 2005

Notes to editors

1. Hang Seng Bank
Founded in 1933, Hang Seng Bank is a principal member of the HSBC Group and the
second largest listed bank in Hong Kong in terms of market value. It operates
159 branches and automated banking centres in Hong Kong; a branch in Macau; and
a network of five branches (in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Fuzhou and
Nanjing), a sub-branch (in Shanghai) and two representative offices (in Beijing
and Xiamen) in mainland China. The Bank also has a representative office in
Taipei.

With consolidated assets of HK$503 billion at the end of 2003, the Bank reported
a profit attributable to shareholders of HK$9.54 billion for 2003. For further
information on Hang Seng, please visit the Bank's website at www.hangseng.com.

2. The HSBC Group
HSBC Holdings plc is headquartered in the UK. The HSBC Group serves over 110
million customers worldwide from more than 9,500 offices in 79 countries and
territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East
and Africa. With assets of US$1,034 billion at 31 December 2003, HSBC is one of
the world's largest banking and financial services organisations.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
                   I