HONG KONG -- Investors on Wednesday backed HSBC Holdings' planned $10.1 billion sale of its Canadian business as part of an international pullback by the bank, which faces pressure to focus on Asia to boost profits.
The lender's shares rose as much as 2.8% in Hong Kong after HSBC said late Tuesday it would book a $5.7 billion pretax gain on the sale to Royal Bank of Canada and may use the proceeds to pay shareholders a one-off dividend or buy back shares. The stock finished Wednesday's session at 47.15 Hong Kong dollars, up 1.95%.
