The incoming chief executive of global banking giant HSBC is thought to be considering a major shake-up of middle management after he takes over the role next week.
Lebanon-born Georges Elhedery, who is currently HSBC's chief financial officer, is believed to mulling cost-cutting measures similar to those undertaken at rivals Citigroup and Standard Chartered.
In its major overhaul, Citigroup is getting rid of five layers of management and tens of thousands of jobs.
We recognise we can do more in Asia and the Middle East
Georges Elhedery
Observers think that by simplifying the bank's network, HSBC could shed some middle manager posts, including certain country heads, as it continues its pivot towards Asia.
It is reported that HSBC, Europe's largest bank, has already embarked on a series of measures aimed at reducing expenses and has tightened the reins on hiring.
However, given the robust business in the GCC countries, HSBC's long and profitable history in the region is expected to continue. HSBC Bank Middle East, which was previously The British Bank of the Middle East, is the largest international bank in the GCC region.
Indeed, in March, Mr Elhedery told investors that “we recognise we can do more in other parts of Asia [beyond Hong Kong] and the Middle East”.
HSBC operates in 60 countries and territories, but Mr Elhedery is expected to consider initiating a plan to slimline and simplify the bank's considerable global operations.
There has been recent speculation that HSBC might sell its South Africa unit, following rumours that buyers from the UAE and China might be interested.
Another potential suitor for its South African assets could be the local banking group Absa, following its purchase of HSBC's retail and business banking units in Mauritius.
In recent years, HSBC has sold off some major businesses in the West, including its French and Canadian operations, and has redeployed capital, in particular, to South-east Asia and China.
Falling interest rates
Like all banks, HSBC, is now facing an environment of falling interest rates as central banks begin a period of monetary loosening, which will inevitably squeeze margins in the traditional lending business.
As such, in addition to a refocusing on Asia, HSBC is also looking to expand its wealth management business. In Britain alone, HSBC is looking to double the assets under management to £100 billion ($131 billion) within the next five years.
While concentrating efforts on generating fees in the wealth management sector is one answer to balance the tighter margins in lending as interest rates fall, some analysts see the market becoming quite crowded.
“The demand for wealth management services continues to grow … but competition is high as almost every major bank has now declared its ambition to take a bigger slice of the pie,” said Nigel Moden, EMEIA banking and capital markets leader at EY.
At the end of July HSBC said it had reduced its sensitivity to falling interest rates through an insurance strategy known as a structural hedge and announced a further $3 billion buyback of its own shares.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
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Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Visa changes give families fresh hope
Foreign workers can sponsor family members based solely on their income
Male residents employed in the UAE can sponsor immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions that include a minimum salary of Dh 4,000 or Dh 3,000 plus accommodation.
Attested original marriage certificate, birth certificate of the child, ejari or rental contract, labour contract, salary certificate must be submitted to the government authorised typing centre to complete the sponsorship process
In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any profession related to the medical sector and her monthly salary is at least Dh 10,000 or Dh 8,000 plus accommodation.
In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in the above categories she can get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than Dh 10,000 and with a special permission from the Department of Naturalization and Residency Dubai.
To sponsor parents, a worker should earn Dh20,000 or Dh19,000 a month, plus a two-bedroom accommodation
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
