HSBC 2007 Annual Report Download - page 456

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC
Shareholder Information (continued)
Dividends / Nature of trading market
454
Interim dividends for 2008
The Board has adopted a policy of paying quarterly interim dividends on the ordinary shares. Under this policy it is
intended to have a pattern of three equal interim dividends with a variable fourth interim dividend. It is envisaged that
the first interim dividend in respect of 2008 will be US$0.18 per ordinary share. The proposed timetables for the
dividends in respect of 2008 are:
Interim dividends for 2008
First Second Third Fourth
Announcement .......................................................... 6 May 2008 4 August 2008 3 November 2008 2 March 2009
ADSs quoted ex-dividend in New York ................... 21 May 2008 20 August 2008 19 November 2008 18 March 2009
Shares quoted ex-dividend in London,
Hong Kong and Bermuda ..................................... 21 May 2008 20 August 2008 19 November 2008 18 March 2009
Record date and closure of Hong Kong Overseas
Branch Register of shareholders for one day ....... 23 May 2008 22 August 2008 21 November 2008 20 March 2009
Shares quoted ex-dividend in Paris .......................... 26 May 2008 25 August 2008 24 November 2008 23 March 2009
Payment date ............................................................. 9 July 2008 8 October 2008 14 January 2009 6 May 2009
Dividends on the ordinary shares of HSBC Holdings
HSBC Holdings has paid dividends on its ordinary shares every year without interruption since it became the HSBC
Group holding company by a scheme of arrangement in 1991. The dividends declared, per ordinary share, for each of
the last five years were:
First
interim
Second
interim
Third
interim
Fourth
interim1 Total2
2007 US$ ....................................... 0.170 0.170 0.170 0.390 0.900
£ ............................................ 0.085 0.084 0.086 0.194 0.449
HK$ ...................................... 1.328 1.322 1.325 3.041 7.016
2006 US$ ....................................... 0.150 0.150 0.150 0.360 0.810
£ ............................................ 0.082 0.079 0.078 0.183 0.422
HK$ ....................................... 1.164 1.167 1.168 2.799 6.298
2005 US$ ....................................... 0.140 0.140 0.140 0.310 0.730
£ ............................................ 0.077 0.079 0.079 0.169 0.404
HK$ ....................................... 1.088 1.086 1.085 2.403 5.662
2004 US$ ....................................... 0.130 0.130 0.130 0.270 0.660
£ ............................................ 0.071 0.072 0.069 0.141 0.353
HK$ ....................................... 1.013 1.014 1.013 2.104 5.144
2003 US$ ....................................... 0.240 0.120 0.240 – 0.600
£ ............................................ 0.146 0.065 0.135 – 0.346
HK$ ....................................... 1.860 0.931 1.871 – 4.662
1 The fourth interim dividend for 2007 of US$0.39 per share has been translated into pounds sterling and Hong Kong dollars at the
closing rate on 31 December 2007. The dividend will be paid on 7 May 2008.
2 The above dividends declared are accounted for as disclosed in Note 12 on the Financial Statements.
Dividends are declared in US dollars and, at the election of the shareholder, paid in cash in one of, or in a
combination of, US dollars, sterling and Hong Kong dollars, or, subject to the Board’s determination, may be
satisfied in whole or in part by the issue of new shares in lieu of a cash dividend.
Nature of trading market
HSBC Holdings ordinary shares are listed or admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange, the Hong Kong
Stock Exchange (‘HKSE’), Euronext Paris, the New York Stock Exchange (‘NYSE’) and the Bermuda Stock
Exchange. HSBC Holdings maintains its principal share register in England and overseas branch share registers in
Hong Kong and Bermuda (collectively, the ‘share register’).
As at 31 December 2007, there were a total of 210,931 holders of record of HSBC Holdings ordinary shares.
As at 31 December 2007, a total of 13,145,585 of the HSBC Holdings ordinary shares were registered in the
HSBC Holdings’ share register in the name of 12,018 holders of record with addresses in the US. These shares
represented 0.1111 per cent of the total HSBC Holdings ordinary shares in issue.