The price was HK$72.7bn ($9.4b), or HK$59 a share, HSBC said in a statement.
Observers said the sale was a sign that HSBC intends to focus on banking rather than insurance, with which it has little opportunities for business synergy.
And as it held only 15.6% of Pin An’s outstanding shares, investors seeking exposure to Pin An’s business would be more likely to buy it directly on the Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges, on which it trades, than to look to HSBC to give it to them.
HSBC Group chief executive Stuart Gulliver confirmed in a statement that the sale represented “further progress in the execution of [HSBC’s] strategy.
“China remains a key market for the group, and we will strengthen our focus on growing our own operations and building on our long-term strategic banking partnership with the Bank of Communications," he added, referring to another Chinese company in which HSBC holds a 19.9% stake.
Pin An is said to have contributed some $450m to HSBC’s first half profits, 4% of the total, while the Bank of Communications generated $830m-worth.
HSBC executives have consistently said they were looking to pare down the bank’s global operations in an effort to focus on those that are producing the fastest profit growth or which represent the best potential. In January, as reported, it announced it had entered into an agreement to dispose of its Thailand-based retail banking and wealth management arm. Earlier divestments included the whole of its banking operations in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras.
