AIA Group names former HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to succeed Edmund Tse
June 6 (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based insurer AIA Group (1299.HK), opens new tab said on Friday that it has appointed former HSBC (0005.HK), opens new tab, (HSBA.L), opens new tab Chairman Mark Tucker to succeed Edmund Sze-Wing Tse, who will retire from his non-executive chair position on September 30.
Tse will make way for Tucker, who previously served as AIA's executive chief and president, to assume the role.
Tucker will step down as HSBC (HSBA.L), opens new tab group chairman on September 30, but will remain a strategic adviser to the group CEO and the board while the search for a permanent successor continues.
In a separate announcement, HSBC appointed Brendan Nelson, chair of its group audit committee, to serve as interim group chairman following the retirement of Mark Tucker.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Major lenders raise mortgage rates ahead of Reeves's spending review
Two major lenders have raised mortgage rates amid fears Rachel Reeves's spending spree will slow down interest rate cuts. Barclays has announced rate rises of around 0.1 and 0.15 percentage points across a range of fixed-rate deals right after HSBC announced similar increases. It comes as the Chancellor prepares to publish her £300bn spending review today, having already set out an £87bn increase in public spending over the next two years. Experts said it could spell pain ahead for mortgage borrowers, as economists warn Reeves had reduced the chances of a rate cut this year. Barclays increased the rate on its five-year fixed-rate deal for those remortgaging with a 60pc loan-to-value ratio from 3.86pc to 4.03pc, leading some brokers to declare the end of sub-4 pc deals. Five-year swaps are currently at 3.71pc up from around 3.6pc a few weeks ago due to a number of factors including uncertainty around US trade policy. The Bank of England cut rates from 4.5pc to 4.25pc in May, but a rate cut in June looks unlikely after data revealed higher-than-expected inflation. Adrian Anderson, of broker Anderson Harris, said: 'I'm not surprised some lenders have increased rates because the cost of borrowing has increased slightly. 'Markets will be looking closely at the spending review. Rachel Reeves needs to strike a delicate balance between not upsetting the bond market while also not upsetting voters. If it looks like she is going to have to borrow more, that will impact swap rates.' Nicholas Mendes, of broker John Charcol, said: 'Looking further afield, mortgage rate cuts are likely to slow. Much of the expected base rate movement from the Bank of England has already been priced in, so unless we see a sharp shift in swap rates or economic data, there's limited room for significant reductions. 'If anything, we could be in for a period of relative stability – a bit of sideways movement rather than any dramatic repricing.' Harry Goodliffe, of broker HTG Mortgages, said: ' We're definitely seeing the sub-4pc deals slip away, and fast. Barclays and HSBC hiking rates feels like a mix of reacting to rising funding costs and not wanting to be overwhelmed with demand. No lender wants to be too competitive in a market this uncertain.' However, other lenders have moved in the opposite direction, with NatWest cutting rates by up to 0.23 percentage points. Aaron Strutt, of broker Trinity Financial said: 'Some borrowers still believe we are in a rate-cutting environment where mortgages are getting cheaper, but this is generally not the case.' He added: 'While the cost of funding does seem to have stabilised, it would not be a surprise to see more lenders pushing up their prices over the coming days.' According to financial data provider Moneyfacts, the average rate on a two-year fix fell 0.06pc to 5.12pc last month, compared to a 0.14pc drop a month prior, in a sign that the mortgage price war we saw earlier this year is cooling off.
Reuters
35 minutes ago
- Reuters
Peru turns to China as US tariffs squeeze blueberry exports
PISCO, Peru, June 11 (Reuters) - In Peru's Pisco Desert, rows of blueberry bushes towering as much as two meters high stretch towards the horizon, finally giving way to sand dunes. Traditional blueberries need chilly nights to bring fruit, but genetic innovations have created varieties like Eureka Sunset that can grow in this kind of arid landscape some 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Lima. For more than a decade the healthy berries have rolled north to U.S. supermarket shelves, but there is a rival buyer in town: China. Growers in Peru are looking for new markets as production rises and their best customer, the United States, is waging a trade tariff war on partners around the world. China has insatiable demand and has built a huge new port near Lima that cuts shipping time across the Pacific in half. "There will be a rebalancing of export share to different markets," said Miguel Bentín, general manager of major producer the Valle y Pampa farm, which began production in 2012 when the blueberry harvest was a tenth of the size it is today. The desert has long been a source of grapes made for Pisco brandy, the base for Pisco Sour cocktails, but blueberry growers have transformed the landscape by drilling wells up to 100 meters (328 feet) deep to find water for the crops and bringing in workers to care for them. Now, Bentin says, they are looking for new buyers. "The full potential of the Chinese market for our products has not yet been fully realized," Bentín told Reuters at the farm. Valle y Pampa typically ships 60% of its blueberries to the United States and the rest to Europe. This year, though, it is planning its first big China shipment to mitigate the impact of a 10% U.S. tariff on all goods from Peru. Peru overtook Chile in 2021 as the world's largest exporter of blueberries and the sector has been adding new markets, according to half a dozen ministers, farming and export officials, and government presentations seen by Reuters. "The search for new markets in Asia, Europe and Oceania (Australia) for agricultural exports has intensified," Peru's Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Úrsula León said in mid-May, explaining that U.S. tariffs could slow the deep purple fruit's booming rise that boosted Peru's exports by some $2.3 billion last year. Production during the 2025-2026 harvest is expected to grow by 25% to 400,000 tons. "If the U.S. tariff measure is maintained, there would be a drop in shipments, especially in the agricultural, textile and mining sectors," added León following a meeting with the Trump administration. She named India, Indonesia and China as markets with growth potential. Peru is negotiating to end U.S. tariffs, which it says breach a free trade agreement. If supplies from Peru decrease, U.S. consumers will likely see prices rise. The Andean country is its top supplier of blueberries ahead of Mexico and Chile. "With a significant portion of produce being imported to the U.S. and not easily produced domestically, tariffs may have an impact on product availability," said Ben Wynkoop, global industry strategist of grocery & convenience, at Blue Yonder, which provides supply chain software to global retailers. "Depending on the severity of the shortage, smaller retailers with limited negotiation power may face significant inventory shortages, particularly for blueberries," he added. "It won't be a moderate effect, it will be quite big," said Gabriel Amaro, head of the Peruvian Association of Agricultural Producers' Guilds, adding farmers were lobbying the government to find ways to soften the blow and protect the free trade deal. "Our strategy is market diversification. We have a whole list of products, especially to open up markets in Asia." David Magaña, senior research analyst at Rabobank, who specializes in the global fruit market downplayed the impact of tariffs. For one, China produces its own berries for more months of the year than the United States, he said. "I don't think anybody in the industry is expecting China to surpass the U.S. as the primary destination for Peruvian blueberries," added Magaña. Peru's wider farm exports - also including grapes and avocados - rose 22% to $12.8 billion last year, mainly to the United States and Europe. Exports of blueberries dipped 30% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, reflecting a change in harvest timing. However, even as quarterly U.S. shipments ticked down, those to China rose, from a lower base. Peru's new Chinese-controlled port of Chancay, meanwhile, cuts the sea journey times to Asia in half to around 20 days, a big plus for keeping fruit fresh. China's Guangzhou port in April joined others by opening a direct route to Chancay. U.S. fruit firm Fruitist, which produces most of its blueberries in Peru and is one of the Andean country's top exporters of the fruit, sent some 15-18 containers of blueberries to China late last year via Chancay. "It transforms the shipping part, the logistical part for everyone who's in fresh fruit in Peru," said John Early, Fruitist's director of global sales. "There is a huge opportunity to expand that business in China." Back in the Pisco Desert, Valle y Pampa manager Bentín agreed, forecasting a noticeable increase to China as the harvest begins to peak around August. "The port of Chancay, especially with its costs and faster transit times, is a game changer," he said.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
UK court rules in favour of lessors in court case over jets 'lost' in Russia
LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - London's High Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of aircraft leasing companies in a multi-billion-dollar legal dispute over jets retained in Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The world's largest aircraft lessor AerCap (AER.N), opens new tab and several other firms had sued insurers including AIG (AIG.N), opens new tab, Lloyd's, Chubb ( opens new tab and Swiss Re (SRENH.S), opens new tab in one of the biggest insurance disputes ever heard in London. The London lawsuit had focused on almost 150 jets and some engines, previously with a total value of up to $4.7 billion, though settlements – including on the first day of trial in October and subsequently – have whittled the numbers down. Judge Christopher Butcher said in a summary of his ruling that the aircraft were lost and "that loss occurred on 10 March 2022, when a piece of Russian legislation banned the export of aircraft and aircraft equipment from Russia". The judge added that insurers were not prevented by EU or U.S. sanctions from indemnifying the claimants for the loss of aircraft which had been leased to Russian airlines.
