HSBC Holdings plc $HSBA (-0.3%) has announced the commencement of a share buyback program starting on Sunday, May 7, 2025, for a maximum outlay of $3 billion to reduce the number of ordinary shares outstanding. The global banking giant, which operates in 58 countries and territories, has entered into agreements with Morgan Stanley & Co $MS (+1.67%) to facilitate the buyback, which is expected to be completed by July 25, 2025, subject to continued regulatory approval.
The share buyback will be conducted on several trading venues, including the London Stock Exchange (LON:LSEG), Aquis Exchange, Cboe Europe Limited, Turquoise and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. The buyback will be conducted pursuant to the authority granted by HSBC shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on 2 May 2025, known as the "2025 Authority", and in compliance with relevant regulatory requirements, including the listing rules of the Financial Conduct Authority and applicable US federal securities laws.
Under the parameters established by the 2025 Authority, up to 1,780,490,250 shares of common stock may be repurchased under this program. All shares purchased under this repurchase will be canceled, thereby reducing the total number of shares.
Morgan Stanley will make the trading decisions in relation to the buyback independently of HSBC and will ensure that all transactions are executed in accordance with the specified parameters. These transactions will be classified as "on-exchange transactions" and "market purchases" under the Companies Act 2006 on UK trading venues, while the buybacks on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will be considered off-exchange under the same Act, but will still comply with the Hong Kong Listing Rules and the Hong Kong Buyback Code.