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HSBC hails rights issue after nearly 97 percent take-up

LONDON - Europe’s biggest bank HSBC announced a 96.6 percent take-up Sunday for its 17.7 billion dollar rights issue announced last month after a plunge in profits.

The rights issue was hailed as a success by HSBC group chairman Stephen Green, who added he was ‘confident’ the company remained ‘well-placed’ despite the world financial crisis.

HSBC outlined its plan for a record British rights issue in March when it reported a 70 percent plunge in annual net profits.

It has refused British government financial assistance in contrast to rivals like Royal Bank of Scotland.

It offered investors five new shares at a heavily-discounted price of 254 pence each for every 12 they already own.

‘I would like to thank shareholders for their support in this successful rights issue,’ Green said in a statement issued by the bank.

‘This underlines our determination that HSBC should maintain its signature financial strength which has served us so well... We remain confident that HSBC is well-placed in today’s environment and that our strength leads to opportunity.’

The statement added that HSBC expects the sale of the remaining 3.4 percent of new ordinary shares to complete on Monday and that in Hong Kong, the take-up figure was 98.2 percent.