26/02/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | FEB 26, 2026

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HSBC earnings top forecasts thanks to wealth business

AI disruption prompts WiseTech to cut 29% of workforce SYDNEY: Australian software firm WiseTech Global will axe about 2,000 jobs, nearly a third of its global workforce, in a two-year restructuring that could rank among the country’s largest artificial intelligence-linked job reductions. Shares of the company, which announced an estimate-beating first-half profit yesterday, closed 11.1% higher at A$47.74, while Australia’s benchmark S&P ASX 200 rose 1.2%. The layoffs highlight how quickly AI is reshaping workplaces globally, as fast-improving automation tools take over routine administrative work and handle complex coding tasks with increasing speed and precision, driving widespread adoption. Last month, Amazon announced 16,000 job cuts worldwide in a second round of redundancies at the tech giant in three months, adding to a wave of redundancies by US companies across sectors this year. WiseTech, which makes shipping and logistics management software, plans to integrate AI into its customer software as well as internal operations, affecting around 29% of its global workforce of around 7,000 across 40 countries. The cuts could shrink some teams by half, starting with product and development, and customer service roles across the organisation. One of the divisions affected will be WiseTech’s US cloud computing arm, E2open, acquired in August for US$2.1 billion, which may see cuts of up to 50%. “Software development has experienced its most significant shift in decades,” WiseTech CEOr Zubin Appoo said. “The era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over.” WiseTech, founded more than three decades ago, reported first-half underlying net profit of US$114.5 million, 6% ahead of market consensus, and announced an interim dividend of 6.8 cents while reaffirming its full-year outlook. Despite the day’s surge, WiseTech’s shares remain 68% below their November 2024 peak, as allegations surrounding founder and former CEO Richard White, including claims of payments to an alleged former lover, fuelled an investor exodus. Concerns around how AI would affect the software maker also kept the stock under pressure. “With recent share price weakness was more governance-driven than fundamental and with the fiscal 2026 guidance reaffirmed, the underlying trajectory remains sustainable despite near-term disruption,” said Marc Jocum, senior product and investment strategist at Global X ETFs. – Reuters

HSBC cited “a strong performance” from its wealth business, which saw US$2.4 billion growth in constant currency profit before tax excluding notable items. The London-headquartered lender concluded a drawn-out shakeup of its leadership in December when it picked finance industry veteran Brendan Nelson to replace Mark Tucker as chairman. Nelson said in a shareholder letter yesterday that the global economy was expected to expand this year. “Despite significant policy uncertainty, global trade is also set to grow, supported by the expansion of new trade corridors and the boom in AI hardware demand,” Nelson said. “Inflation should continue drifting downward, although with divergence across markets. “Somewhat uneven growth across industries and geographies could contribute to periodic financial volatility.” Nelson pointed to the United States as a “key driver of global growth, reaping the benefits of sizeable investments in AI, tax cuts and incentives, as well as substantial deregulation”. “In China, a stronger policy push should anchor its growth, and we expect it to broadly maintain its expansion pace of recent years, as structural reforms start to gain traction.” Investors welcomed the report, pushing HSBC’s shares up 2.7% in afternoon trade in Hong Kong. They had already doubled since Elhedery took over as CEO in 2024, and hit a record high this month. The bank said in January that it had completed its privatisation of its Hong Kong subsidiary Hang Seng Bank. – AFP

o CEO hails ‘a year of decisive action and swift execution’ HONG KONG: Banking giant HSBC posted better-than-expected 2025 earnings yesterday thanks to a strong performance in its wealth business while it pressed ahead with sweeping overhauls to streamline its structure and cut costs. Chief executive Georges Elhedery hailed “a year of decisive action and swift execution, which is reflected in our strong performance”. “Each of our four businesses performed well and we have strong momentum across the bank”. The firm saw pre-tax profit fall US$2.4 billion (RM9.3 billion) to US$29.9 billion last year, it said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. That beat an estimate of US$28.9 billion, according to Bloomberg News. Profit attributable to shareholders came in at US$21.1 billion last year, from US$22.9 billion in 2024. Elhedery added that the bank was “raising our ambition and targeting a 17% (return on tangible equity) or better, excluding notable items, in each year from 2026 to 2028”. “We are also targeting year-on-year revenue growth over the same period on the same basis, rising to 5% in 2028.” The firm said the drop in 2025 pre-tax profit was mainly down to a US$4.9 billion year-on-year net adverse impact from notable items, including dilution and impairment losses of US$2.1 billion related to its associate Bank of Communications.

People walk by the entrance to a HSBC branch in central London. – AFPPIC

Thai central bank unexpectedly cuts policy rate by 25 basis points BANGKOK: Thailand’s central bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate at a review yesterday, as it seeks to further support an economy pressured by US tariff uncertainty and a strengthening baht. quarter-point cut at this week’s meeting. The others had all predicted no policy change. pandemic, has struggled with multiple challenges, including US tariffs, high household debt and the baht’s strength. tourism sectors, which are both key economic drivers.

“The (baht’s) appreciation has tightened financial conditions for exporters, particularly for products facing intense price competition and low profit margins,” the central bank said. Yesterday’s reduction was the sixth since October 2024, with rates down by a total of 150 basis points as authorities try to spark a revival in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. – Reuters

The economy grew 2.5% in the final quarter of 2025 from a year earlier, faster than expected and outpacing growth of 1.2% in the previous quarter. The baht has gained more than 1% against the dollar so far this year after a 9% rise last year, threatening the competitiveness of the export and

“Economic growth is projected to remain below potential in 2026 and 2027 and uneven across sectors, reflecting structural impediments and intensified competition,” the central bank said in a statement announcing the rate cut. The Thai economy, which has lagged regional peers since the

The Bank of Thailand’s monetary policy committee voted 4 to 2 to cut the one-day repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 1.00% at its first review of the year. Only six of 27 economists in a Reuters poll had forecast a

Drop in Singapore Airlines’ Q3 profit masks strong operating performance SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines’ third quarter profit fell 69%, it said on Tuesday, distorted by a one-off gain a year earlier and due to losses at associate Air India, although strong passenger demand boosted operating revenue. Singapore Airlines has a joint venture Vistara into Air India. Singapore’s flag carrier reported a net profit of S$505 million (RM1.6 billion) for the October-December period, down from S$1.63 billion a year earlier – when it had been bolstered by a S$1.1 billion gain from the Air India-Vistara merger. surge in operating profit to S$792 million on strong passenger demand, improved yields and passenger loads. With record global travel demand keeping older aircraft in service and pushing up fuel and maintenance costs, higher operating expenses have partially offset the improvement in operational performance. prices and increased uplift volumes. Passenger operations remained the airline’s growth engine, with Singapore Airlines and budget unit Scoot carrying 10.9 million passengers during the quarter, up 6.3% year-on-year.

The airline group’s passenger yields – the average price a passenger pays to fly 1km – rose 1.9% to 10.9 Singapore cents per revenue passenger-kilometre, reflecting improving pricing power. – Reuters

The decline in profit masked a robust operational performance, with the carrier posting record quarterly revenue of S$5.51 billion and a 26%

25.1% stake in Air India and began accounting for the Indian airline’s earnings in December 2024 after the integration of Singapore Airlines’

The airline’s total expenditure rose 2.7% to S$4.71 billion, primarily driven by capacity expansion, higher fuel