HSBC is reportedly contemplating the sale of its South African assets as part of a strategic shift towards concentrating on Asian markets.

Bloomberg News on Tuesday reported that the British banking giant is exploring the possibility of selling its South African operations, which include its branch business and securities division. Interested parties are said to include banks from China and the United Arab Emirates. However, no final agreements or transactions have yet been confirmed.

HSBC has been operating in South Africa since 1995, providing commercial and investment banking services primarily to large companies. The potential sale would mark a significant reduction in the bank's footprint in sub-Saharan Africa, following its earlier divestment of retail and business banking operations in Mauritius to Absa Group Ltd.

Under the leadership of recently appointed chief executive officer Georges Elhedery, HSBC is actively seeking to streamline its global operations. Elhedery, who has been with the bank since 2005 and boasts nearly thirty years of experience in financial services, has articulated a vision for enhancing value for clients and investors by focusing on sustainable growth.

This move aligns with HSBC's broader strategy to cut costs and simplify its structure, similar to the approach adopted by Citigroup's chief executive officer Jane Fraser.

The proposed overhaul would see HSBC restructuring its industry-coverage units into five larger groupings, a step anticipated to prepare the bank for a potential decrease in global interest rates.

Over the past three years, HSBC has progressively reoriented its strategy to favour Asia, divesting significant assets in Western markets such as France and Canada, and redirecting resources to Southeast Asia and China.

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