31st Jul 2006 09:15
HSBC Holdings PLC31 July 2006 9. Dealings in HSBC Holdings plc shares Except for dealings as intermediaries by HSBC Bank plc, HSBC Financial Products(France) SNC and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, whichare members of a European Economic Area exchange, neither the Company nor anysubsidiary undertaking has bought, sold or redeemed any securities of theCompany during the six months ended 30 June 2006. 10. Statutory accounts The information in this news release does not constitute statutory accountswithin the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985 ('the Act'). TheInterim Report 2006 was approved by the Board of Directors on 31 July 2006. Thestatutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2005 have been delivered tothe Registrar of Companies in England and Wales in accordance with Section 242of the Act. The auditor has reported on those accounts. Its report wasunqualified and did not contain a statement under Section 237(2) or (3) of theAct. This news release does not constitute the unaudited interim consolidatedfinancial statements which are contained in the Interim Report. The unauditedinterim consolidated financial statements have been reviewed by the Company'sauditor, KPMG Audit Plc, in accordance with the guidance contained in Bulletin1999/4: Review of interim financial information issued by the Auditing PracticesBoard. On the basis of its review, KPMG Audit Plc was not aware of any materialmodifications that should be made to the unaudited interim consolidatedfinancial statements as presented for the six months ended 30 June 2006 in theInterim Report to the shareholders. The full report of its review is included inthe Interim Report to the shareholders. 11. Forward-looking statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements with respect tothe financial condition, results of operations and business of HSBC. Theseforward-looking statements represent HSBC's expectations or beliefs concerningfuture events and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainty that couldcause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from thoseexpressed or implied in such statements. Certain statements, such as those thatinclude the words 'potential', 'estimated', and similar expressions or variations on such expressions may be considered 'forward-looking statements'. 12. Corporate governance HSBC is committed to high standards of corporate governance. HSBC Holdings plchas complied with the applicable code provisions of the Combined Code onCorporate Governance issued by the Financial Reporting Council ('the CombinedCode') throughout the six months to 30 June 2006, save that the Group Chairmandid not on appointment meet the Combined Code's independence criteria. On 26 May2006 S K Green, who had previously served as Group Chief Executive, became GroupChairman. In accordance with the provisions of the Combined Code in thecircumstance where a Chief Executive becomes a Chairman, the Board consultedmajor shareholders in advance of the appointment. Sir Brian Moffat, the seniorindependent non-executive Director and the Chairman of the Nomination Committee,wrote to all shareholders to explain the Board's decision and the reasons for the appointment. These were also described on pages 200 and 201 of the Annual Report and Accounts 2005. HSBC Holdings plc has complied with all applicable code provisions of the Codeon Corporate Governance Practices in Appendix 14 to the Rules Governing theListing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited throughout thesix months to 30 June 2006. The Board of HSBC Holdings plc has adopted a code of conduct for transactions inHSBC Group securities by Directors that complies with The Model Code in theListing Rules of the Financial Services Authority and with The Model Code forSecurities Transactions by Directors of Listed Issuers ('Hong Kong Model Code')set out in the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchangeof Hong Kong Limited, save that The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited hasgranted certain waivers from strict compliance with the Hong Kong Model Code,primarily to take into account accepted practices in the UK, particularly inrespect of employee share plans. Following a specific enquiry, each Director hasconfirmed he or she has complied with the code of conduct for transactions inHSBC Group securities throughout the period. The members of the Board of Directors of HSBC Holdings plc are:S K Green, Baroness Dunn*, Sir Brian Moffat+, M F Geoghegan, Lord Butler+, R K FCh'ien+, J D Coombe+, R A Fairhead+, D J Flint, W K L Fung+, S Hintze+, J W JHughes-Hallett+, Sir Mark Moody-Stuart+, S W Newton+, S M Robertson+, H Sohmen*,and Sir Brian Williamson+.* Non-executive Director+ Independent non-executive Director The Group Audit Committee has reviewed the interim results for the six months to30 June 2006. 13. Interim Report The Interim Report 2006 will be mailed to shareholders on or about 11 August2006. Further copies may be obtained from Group Corporate Affairs, HSBC Holdingsplc, 8 Canada Square, London E14 5HQ, United Kingdom; or from Group PublicAffairs, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, 1 Queen's RoadCentral, Hong Kong; or from Employee Communications, HSBC - North America, 2700Sanders Road, Prospect Heights, Illinois 60070, USA; or from the HSBC website:www.hsbc.com. A Chinese translation of the Interim Report 2006 may be obtained on request fromComputershare Hong Kong Investor Services Limited, Hopewell Centre, 46th Floor,183 Queen's Road East, Hong Kong. The Interim Report 2006, and this results announcement, will be available on theStock Exchange of Hong Kong's website: www.hkex.com.hk. Custodians or nominees who wish to distribute copies of the Interim Report 2006to their clients may request copies for collection by writing to Group CorporateAffairs at the address given above. 14. Final results for 2006 The results for the year to 31 December 2006 will be announced on Monday 5 March2007. 15. Proposed interim dividends for 2006 The Board has adopted a policy of paying quarterly dividends on the ordinaryshares. Under this policy it is intended to have a pattern of three equalinterim dividends with a variable fourth interim dividend. The proposedtimetables for the dividends payable on the ordinary shares in respect of 2006are: Third interim dividend for 2006 Announcement 6 November 2006 American Depositary Shares quoted ex-dividend in New York 21 November 2006 Shares quoted ex-dividend in London, Hong Kong and Bermuda 22 November 2006 Record date and closure of Hong Kong Overseas Branch Register of shareholders for one day 24 November 2006 Shares quoted ex-dividend in Paris 27 November 2006 Payment date 18 January 2007 Fourth interim dividend for 2006 Announcement 5 March 2007 Shares quoted ex-dividend in London, Hong Kong and Bermuda; American Depositary Shares quoted ex-dividend in New York 21 March 2007 Record date and closure of Hong Kong Overseas Branch Register of shareholders for one day 23 March 2007 Shares quoted ex-dividend in Paris 26 March 2007 Payment date 10 May 2007 16. News release Copies of this news release may be obtained from Group Corporate Affairs, HSBCHoldings plc, 8 Canada Square, London E14 5HQ, United Kingdom; The Hongkong andShanghai Banking Corporation Limited, 1 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong; HSBCBank USA, N.A., 452 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018, USA; HSBC France,Direction de la Communication, 103 avenue des Champs Elysees, 75419 Paris Cedex08, France. The news release will also be available on the HSBC website:www.hsbc.com. 17. For further information contact: London Hong KongRichard Beck David HallDirector of Communications & Public Policy Head of Group Public Affairs (Asia)Telephone: +44 20 7991 0633 Telephone: +852 2822 1133 Patrick McGuinness Gareth HewettSenior Manager Investor Relations Senior Manager External RelationsTelephone: +44 20 7992 1938 Telephone: +852 2822 4929 Chicago ParisLisa Sodeika Chantal NedjibExecutive Vice President, Managing Director, Corporate CommunicationsCorporate Affairs Telephone: +33 1 40 70 7729Telephone: +1 847 564 6394 Linda Recupero Gilberte LombardExecutive Vice President, Investor Relations DirectorGroup Public Affairs Telephone: +33 1 40 70 2257Telephone: +1 212 525 3800 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
HSBC Holdings