HSBC continues Middle East retrenching

HSBC is reportedly reviewing its operations in Lebanon and may exit the country, in an effort to withdraw from non-core businesses; a decision has not yet been made. This continues an effort made by the bank to focus on core operations. In the Middle East, the bank still operates in the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Algeria. The lender is in the process of closing its one-branch operations in Ramallah, Palestine, and recently closed its operations in Jordan and Pakistan.

Dubai/Beirut: HSBC Holdings Plc is reviewing its operations in Lebanon and may exit the Middle Eastern country as the bank focuses on more profitable markets, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The bank hasn’t yet made a decision on what to do in the country where it has three retail branches and a corporate banking business, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. A spokesman for HSBC in Dubai declined to comment.

London-based HSBC said in June that it’s targeting annual cost savings of as much as $5 billion (Dh18.3 billion) by 2017. The bank is aiming for reductions of $4.5 billion to $5 billion and is seeking a buyer for its Turkey business after selling operations in Brazil. Under a three-year plan, the lender will reduce the number of full-time employees by 22,000 to 25,000, or about 10 per cent.

In the Middle East, HSBC operates in the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Algeria. In Saudi Arabia, the bank holds a 40 per cent stake in Saudi British Bank and a 49 per cent share in HSBC Saudi Arabia.

The lender is in the process of closing its one-branch operations in Ramallah, Palestine, and recently closed its operations in Jordan and Pakistan.

New Middle East Headquarters

HSBC Holdings will start building a new Middle East headquarters near the world’s tallest tower in Dubai as the lender aims to combine staff from three other locations in the city. Abu Dhabi developer Gulf Resources Development & Investment will construct the tower and sell it to HSBC Bank Middle East Limited for about Dh920 million ($250 million) upon completion in 2017, according to Jim Osborne, an official at the building company. GRDI recently sold a building it constructed for Standard Chartered Plc to Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund. HSBC confirmed the plans in a statement Sunday.

HSBC, which first opened in Dubai in 1946, will start moving some of its 4,000 workers to the 20-storey building in 2018. The bank has staff spread across four locations including a building in Bur Dubai and offices in Emaar Square and Lufthansa building. The new headquarters will include 320,000 square-feet (29,729 square meters) of office space.