HONG KONG (Reuters) – Ping An Insurance Group defended its call to spin off HSBC’s Asia business, citing its large holdings in the bank that affects its investment returns. “It is a significant investment and we’ve invested in it for seven years,” Jessica Tan, the group’s co-CEO, told Reuters on Wednesday, when asked about the drivers behind urging Europe’s largest bank to consider a spin-off.
“We care much about long-term returns,” Tan said in remarks that were among the first official comments by the insurer’s senior management on the saga with HSBC.
“We are not an activist investor,” she said.
(Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Anshuman Daga and Jacqueline Wong)
