HSBC Stake in Ping An

HSBC Holdings PLC
09 May 2005


                       HSBC TO INCREASE STAKE IN PING AN

HSBC Insurance Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the HSBC Group,
has entered into agreements, subject to conditions referred to below, to acquire
an additional 9.91 per cent of the issued share capital of Ping An Insurance
(Group) Company of China, Ltd. for HK$8,104 million (US$1,039 million).

The shares are to be acquired from two of the current shareholders of Ping An,
namely, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and MSCP/PA Holding Limited, an entity
controlled by funds managed by the private equity business of Morgan Stanley.
The vendors acquired the Ping An shares in 1994.

Under the terms of the agreements, 613,929,279 Ping An shares will be acquired
by HSBC at HK$13.20 (US$1.69) a share, a premium of 9 per cent to the price at
which Ping An shares closed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 6 May 2005.
Completion of the transaction will bring HSBC's holding in Ping An to 19.90 per
cent of its issued share capital.

The transactions are subject to certain conditions including obtaining approval
from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and other approvals as required
by PRC regulators. HSBC intends to satisfy the consideration for the shares out
of internal resources.

HSBC Holdings plc Group Chairman, Sir John Bond, said: "This year marks the
140th year of HSBC's continuous presence in mainland China and our proposed
additional investment in Ping An Insurance demonstrates the confidence HSBC has
in the future of the country. We are optimistic about the long-term prospects of
the insurance industry in mainland China and believe Ping An is well positioned
to benefit from the sector's development. We are looking forward to developing
our partnership with Ping An and working more closely with them in the future."

Chairman and CEO of Ping An Insurance, Mr Peter Ma, said: "We recognise and
appreciate the significant value added by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley since
1994 and look forward to further strengthening our relationship with HSBC."

Notes to editors

1. Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.
Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. ("Ping An") was founded in 1988
and has its headquarter in Shenzhen. With insurance as its core business, Ping
An has grown into a close-knit, efficient and diversified financial holding
group that integrates securities, trusts and banking. The group company is the
holding company of Ping An Life Insurance Company of China, Ltd. and Ping An
Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China, Ltd. According to the gross
written premiums, Ping An Life was ranked the second largest life insurance in
the PRC, Ping An P&C was ranked the third largest property and casualty
insurance company in the PRC.

2. The HSBC Group
The HSBC Group is one of the largest banking and financial services
organisations in the world. The Group has over 9,800 offices in 77 countries and
territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East
and Africa, serves over 110 million customers and has assets of US$1,277 billion
at 31 December 2004.




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