HSBC looks set to overcome demands from its largest shareholder to consider spinning off its business in the region.

The bank will hold its annual general meeting on Friday, but Reuters has reported that Ping An, a major Chinese insurer and the largest shareholder in Europe’s biggest bank, will struggle to secure the 75 per cent of votes cast needed to pass the special resolutions.

The proposals were raised by individual investor Ken Lui and were supported by Ping An. They call on HSBC to consider separating its Asia business into a standalone entity that would be listed in Hong Kong, along with boosting dividend payouts and to regularly review strategy.

HSBC asked investors to vote against the proposals, and argued that they would destroy shareholder value. Asides from Ping An, no other major institutional investors have backed the proposals, with Norway's state investment fund, HSBC's 4th biggest investor, going so far as to publicly back the board.

In comments to CNBC News, Lui said that he had met with eight of HSBC’s top 50 investors and said he was “very confident” in the proposal.

For its part, Ping An has increasingly turned on HSBC over the past six months having first called on an Asian split in November. Asia is the most lucrative market for the bank.

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