Offer Update

HSBC Hldgs PLC
25 September 2000


HSBC PUBLISHES OFFER TO BUY OUT THE REMAINING 1.4 PER
CENT OF THE SHARE CAPITAL OF CCF

The terms of HSBC's offer to buy out the remaining 1.4
per cent of the share capital of CCF are published in
France today in a newspaper advertisement in La Tribune.

As previously announced on 5 September 2000, the offer,
which has now been filed with French stock market
authorities, will be followed immediately by the
compulsory acquisition of any remaining shares.

The offer is at a cash price of EUR150 per CCF share and
will remain open between 26 September and 9 October 2000.
The compulsory acquisition of remaining shares will take
place on 10 October 2000 at a cash price of EUR150 per
CCF share.

The quotation of the shares of CCF on the ParisBourse SBF
SA is expected to recommence tomorrow, 26 September 2000.

Regulatory statements
This announcement is authorised, and its contents have
been approved, by HSBC Investment Bank plc, which is
regulated in the United Kingdom by The Securities and
Futures Authority Limited.

HSBC Investment Bank plc and Goldman Sachs International,
each of which is regulated by The Securities and Futures
Authority Limited, are each acting for HSBC and no-one
else in connection with the Offer and will not be
responsible to anyone other than HSBC for providing
protections afforded to their respective customers or for
providing advice in relation to the Offer.

Under the safe harbor provisions to the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, HSBC cautions
investors that any forward-looking statements or
projections made by HSBC, including those made in this
document, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may
cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected. Factors that may affect HSBC's operations are
discussed in HSBC's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 1999,
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.