HSBC Subsidiary Disposal

HSBC Holdings PLC
21 May 2001


               CCF TO SELL ITS MAJORITY STAKE IN
                 CREDIT INTERNATIONAL D'EGYPTE

CCF, a principal member of the HSBC Group, has reached
agreement to sell its 93.3 per cent stake in Credit
International d'Egypte (CIE), an Egyptian commercial bank
which is 6.7 per cent listed on the Cairo Stock Exchange, to
Credit Agricole Indosuez and the El Mansour and El Maghraby
groups.

The transaction has been submitted to regulatory authorities
for final approval. On completion, CCF's stake in Credit
International d'Egypte will be 75 per cent owned by Credit
Agricole Indosuez and 25 per cent by the El Mansour and El
Maghraby groups.

CIE is primarily engaged in corporate banking. CIE had a
balance sheet of £E871 million, and a net asset value of £E100
million on 31 December 2000.

The disposal of CIE follows HSBC's consolidation of its position in Egypt
through its increase in shareholding from 40 per cent to over 90 per cent in
Egyptian British Bank, now renamed HSBC Bank Egypt, in October 2000. Mr Martin
Tricaud, Managing Director of CIE, will join HSBC Bank Egypt as General Manager
responsible for corporate banking.

HSBC Bank Egypt reported profits of £E61 million for the year ended 2000 and
total assets of £E3,831 million at 31 December 2000.

CCF will maintain its representative office in Cairo to
support CCF's clients in their local dealings, contract
negotiations, and development of financing structures with
leading public and private sector Egyptian organisations.
Through this office, CCF occupies a leading position in export
financing, notably the responsibility for monitoring the
financing arrangements for the Cairo metro.

Notes to editors

1.  HSBC Bank Egypt SAE
HSBC Bank Egypt was established in 1982, originally as
Hongkong Egyptian Bank and subsequently as Egyptian British
Bank. It changed its name to HSBC Bank Egypt on 1 April 2001,
following an increase in shareholding by the HSBC Group from
40 per cent to over 90 per cent in October 2000. With nine
branches and assets of £E3,831 million at 31 December 2000,
HSBC Bank Egypt is one of the largest privately owned banks in
Egypt.

2.  HSBC Bank Middle East
HSBC Bank Middle East is the largest and most widely
represented international bank in the Middle East with 29
branches throughout the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain,
Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Autonomous Area,
including an offshore banking unit in Bahrain. This extensive
regional coverage is enhanced by the HSBC Group's subsidiary
HSBC Bank Egypt SAE and its associate companies, The Saudi
British Bank and British Arab Commercial Bank. In addition to
its Middle Eastern network, the bank has branches in Baku,
Azerbaijan and in London, UK. It also has a representative
office in Tehran, Iran.

3.  HSBC Holdings plc
HSBC Bank Middle East is a principal member of the HSBC Group
which, with some 6,500 offices in 79 countries and territories
and assets of US$674 billion at 31 December 2000, is one of
the world's largest banking and financial services
organisations.