Friday October 6,2006. 3:30 PM
HSBC says no plans to quit Britain for tax reasons
LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - London-based bank HSBC Holdings Plc has
no plans to move its headquarters from Britain for tax reasons, it
said on Friday.
The Guardian newspaper reported that a senior official at HSBC,
whose operations span over 70 countries, had said Britain may no
longer be an attractive place to be based for tax purposes.
"It is not true that we might be leaving Britain for tax reasons,"
an HSBC spokesman said, adding the bank's next review of
the location of its headquarters and other major offices was not
due for about 18 months.
"One of the benefits of London in the past has been a
relatively good tax regime. The UK needs to be aware of that being
one of its competitive advantages," he said, adding the regulatory
environment was also an important factor.
"It would be possible to go somewhere where there is zero
corporation tax which would save us in the region of 400 million
pounds ($754.1 million) a year. But those places tend not to have
regulators as complex and aware as the FSA (Financial Services
Authority).
"As much as banks moan about regulation from time to time, having
your HQ based with a good and globally renowned regulator builds
customer credibility. If we were to lose that then we would have a
problem," the spokesman said.
2.i think sg is courting HSBC to move its HQ here,or at least
part
of its HQ operations.
This news is 'leaked ' by Lion Bank,as called in HK,to
get most incentives from UK government for keeping its HQ
there!!
Profit tax in UK is 30%.
