Proposed Paris Listing, etc.
HSBC Hldgs PLC
6 July 2000
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC - PROPOSED LISTING IN PARIS
HSBC Holdings plc ('HSBC') has obtained the necessary
approvals from the Commission des Operations de Bourses
('COB') and from the ParisBourse to list on the Premier
Marche a Reglement Mensuel of the ParisBourse.
This listing of HSBC ordinary shares on the ParisBourse
is subject to the success of the recommended public offer
for shares of Credit Commercial de France (CCF) (the
'Offer') published on 7 June 2000. The Offer will close
on 12 July 2000 and the results will be announced on 24
July 2000. Settlement is planned for 28 July 2000, the
day it is planned for HSBC shares to start trading in
Paris.
The Offer, which was recommended unanimously by the Board
of CCF on 1 April 2000, is at a price of EUR150 per CCF
share in cash or, as an alternative, 13 ordinary shares
of HSBC for each CCF share.
As announced previously, HSBC has purchased the shares in
CCF held by KBC Group, KBL, Lafarge, SMABTP and The Taiyo
Mutual Life Insurance Company for a price of EUR150. This
represents in aggregate 24.3 per cent of the outstanding
share capital of CCF.
Swiss Life has committed to accept HSBC's offer and to
elect to receive shares of HSBC under the exchange offer
in respect of its holding of 11,070,546 shares of CCF (15
per cent of the issued share capital). In a news release
issued on 1 April 2000, ING announced that it had decided
to accept the Offer in respect of its holding of
approximately 19 per cent of the issued share capital of
CCF.
This stock exchange listing will be the fourth for HSBC
and will allow investors to trade the company's shares in
euros. HSBC shares are currently traded in London, Hong
Kong and New York, in sterling, HK dollars and US dollars
respectively.
Sir John Bond, Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings plc, said:
'We are very happy to be able to offer CCF shareholders
the ability to trade HSBC shares in Paris, giving them
access to an efficient market priced in euros. We believe
this euro trading facility will also interest and benefit
other European shareholders.'
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.
Notes to editors:
1. CCF
CCF is a major French banking group, with businesses in
personal, corporate and investment banking, asset
management and private banking. It employs 13,000 staff
and has 650 branches in France serving over 1 million
customers in the middle and upper income bracket, and an
important corporate and institutional business. It has
funds under management of EUR61 billion at 31 March 2000.
It is a leading foreign bank in Brazil.
CCF announced its first quarter results on 18 May 2000.
CCF's website is www.ccf.fr
2. HSBC Holdings plc
Headquartered in London, the HSBC Group is one of the
largest banking and financial services organisations in
the world. HSBC's international network comprises more
than 5,000 offices in 80 countries and territories in the
Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Americas, the Middle
East and Africa.
With listings on the London, Hong Kong and New York stock
exchanges, shares in HSBC are held by more than 175,000
shareholders in some 100 countries and territories. The
shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange in the
form of American Depositary Receipts.
Through a global network linked by advanced technology,
including a rapidly growing e-commerce capability, HSBC
provides a comprehensive range of financial services:
personal, commercial, corporate, investment and private
banking; trade services; cash management; treasury and
capital markets services; insurance; consumer and
business finance; pension and investment fund management;
trustee services; and securities and custody services.
HSBC's website is www.hsbc.com