HSBC 2005 Annual Report Download - page 215

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of Annual General Meeting’ will be set out in the
notes to that Notice.
At 31 December 2005, Directors and Senior
Management held, in aggregate, beneficial interests
in 26,043,491 HSBC Holdings ordinary shares
(0.2 per cent of the issued ordinary shares).
Employee involvement
HSBC Holdings continues to regard communication
with its employees as a key aspect of its policies.
Information is given to employees about
employment matters and about the financial and
economic factors affecting HSBC’s performance
through management channels, an intranet site
accessible to all HSBC’s employees worldwide, in-
house magazines and by way of attendance at
internal seminars and training programmes.
Employees are encouraged to discuss operational
and strategic issues with their line management and
to make suggestions aimed at improving
performance. The involvement of employees in the
performance of HSBC is further encouraged through
participation in bonus and share plans as appropriate.
About half of all HSBC employees now
participate in one or more of HSBC’s employee
share plans.
Employment of disabled persons
HSBC Holdings continues to be committed to
providing equal opportunities to employees. The
employment of disabled persons is included in this
commitment and the recruitment, training, career
development and promotion of disabled persons is
based on the aptitudes and abilities of the individual.
Should employees become disabled during
employment, every effort is made to continue their
employment and, if necessary, appropriate training is
provided.
Supplier payment policy
HSBC Holdings subscribes to the Better Payment
Practice Code for all suppliers, the four principles of
which are: to agree payment terms at the outset and
stick to them; to explain payment procedures to
suppliers; to pay bills in accordance with any
contract agreed with the supplier or as required by
law; and to tell suppliers without delay when an
invoice is contested and settle disputes quickly.
Copies of, and information about, the Code are
available from: The Department of Trade and
Industry, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET; and
the internet at www.dti.gov.uk/publications.
It is HSBC Holdings’ practice to organise
payment to its suppliers through a central accounts
function operated by its subsidiary, HSBC Bank.
Included in the balance with HSBC Bank is the
amount due to trade creditors which, at 31 December
2005, represented 22 days’ average daily purchases
of goods and services received from such creditors,
calculated in accordance with the Companies Act
1985, as amended by Statutory Instrument 1997/571.
Notifiable interests in share capital
According to the register maintained by HSBC
Holdings under section 211 of the Companies Act
1985:
• Legal and General Investment Management
Limited gave notice on 11 June 2002 that it had
an interest in 284,604,788 HSBC Holdings
ordinary shares, representing 3.01 per cent of
the ordinary shares in issue at that date;
• Barclays PLC gave notice on 2 June 2005 that it
had an interest in 351,871,399 HSBC Holdings
ordinary shares representing 3.14 per cent of the
ordinary shares in issue on that date; and
• Credit Suisse First Boston gave notice on
30 November 2005 that it had an interest in
553,491,660 HSBC Holdings ordinary shares,
representing 4.89 per cent of the ordinary shares
in issue at that date.
There are no notifiable interests in the equity
share capital recorded in the register maintained
under section 336 of the Securities and Futures
Ordinance of Hong Kong.
In compliance with the Rules Governing the
Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of
Hong Kong Limited at least 25 per cent of the total
issued share capital of HSBC Holdings has been held
by the public at all times during 2005 and up to the
date of this Report.
Dealings in HSBC Holdings shares
Except for dealings as intermediaries by HSBC
Bank, HSBC Financial Products (France) and The
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation,
which are members of a European Economic Area
exchange, neither HSBC Holdings nor any
subsidiary undertaking has bought, sold or redeemed
any securities of HSBC Holdings during the year
ended 31 December 2005.
Donations
During the year, HSBC made charitable donations
totalling US$81.4 million. Of this amount,