HSBC Investment Bank

HSBC World Headquarters

As of March 2011 HSBC was the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company, according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine [http://www.forbes.com/companies/hsbc-holdings/. It has around 7,500 offices in 87 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America and around 100 million customers.

The following is a summary of some of its mining and mineral-related investments over the past three years:

As of early 2008, HSBC Investment Bank held 4.23% of Nufcor Uranium Ltd (see Deutsche Bank) [Hemscott 14 February 2008].

In March 2009, HSBC Bank Plc held 7.01% of LonZim plc.

At this time HSBC Holdings plc was also the third biggest shareholder in GCM Resources (the bank later sold most or all of its shares in this highly-controversial UK-listed company).

HSBC Global Custodian (Custody) Nominees (UK) Limited on behalf of clients holds 3.05% of the share capital of BHP Billiton PLC [Hemscott 16 August 2009], and is the majority holder of shares in Mincorp PLC, which is principally focussed on gold mining in Australia [Hemscott 14 February 2009].

It also had small stakes in 2008 in:

• African Diamonds plc [Hemscott, 23 January 2008];
• 3.43% of Cambrian Mining plc [Hemscott 11 February 2008];
• 6.33% of Cape Diamonds plc [Hemscott 11 February 2008];
• 4.99% of Hidefield Gold PLC [Hemscott 11 February 2008];
• 7.58% of Kenmare Resources PLC (see State Street) [Hemscott 12 February 2008];
• and 4.20% of Ariana Resources PLC [Hemscott 18 May 2008].

As of February 2009 the Nominees held 6% of Mwana Africa PLC [Hemscott 14 February 2009], whose major asset is the Bindura nickel mine in Zimbabwe, where Mwana also has gold properties, as well as exploring for copper and diamonds in DR Congo [Hemscott 14 February 2009]. The nominees held 7.15 % of Persian Gold Plc and 3.76 of ZincOx Resources plc (as of May 2007).

Nominees also held the largest single stake (at 27.99%) in Shanta Gold Ltd, a UK company active in Tanzanian gold exploration [Hemscott 20 May 2008] and – at 37.76% - in Allied Gold Ltd, an LSE-registered company which has a gold oxide project at Simberi, Papua New Guinea [Hemscott 12 February 2009]. The nominees also held 3.07% of Angus & Ross PLC, whose prime asset is a lead-zinc mine (currently closed) in Western Greenland [Hemscott 12 February 2009]; and 5.69% of Natasa Mining Ltd.

In mid-2007 HSBC nominees were the largest single shareholders in OceanaGold Ltd, operating in the Philippines [Piplinks 2007].

They also held 8.97% of Van Dieman Mines PLC (see Galena) [Hemscott 12 February 2008]; 3.31% of UMC Energy PLC [Hemscott 13 February 2008]; (in 2006) just under 4% of Rusina Mining NL [Piplinks 2007]; and 3.08% of Neptune Minerals PLC (see CS Client Nominees (UK)) [Hemscott 13 February 2008]; and just under 10% of Alexander Mining PLC (see CS Securities Europe) [Hemscott 12 February 2009].

In July 2009, the Nominees were the biggest group of shareholders in the Papua New Guinea gold miner, Allied Gold Ltd [Hemscott 3 August 2009].

As of 2010, the Nominees held just under 7% of the shares of Australian gold explorer, Millenium Minerals Ltd.

HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Ltd has a combined stake of 11.41% in Fortescue Metals Group (see ANZ Nominees). In 2007 they were the second biggest shareholders (14.86%) in Namibian uranium prospecting company, Extract Resources, based in Australia; and held 5.6 million shares in Zambezi Resources Ltd (see Glencore Investments BV). In February 2009 they held 3.07% of Medusa Mining Ltd (see Gazmetall) and 4.75% of Aquarius Platinum. [Hemscott 5 August 2009]

In 2010, HSBC was named in an investor lawsuit, along with JP Morgan Chase, for conspiring to drive down silver prices fixed in COMEX futures and options contracts.(This was, essentially, to pick up the shares at a cheaper price later on.

However, although JP Morgan is still defending itself in this case, in September 2011 the US courts admitted an "amended complaint" , after the aggrieved investors apparently agreed a "tolling agreement" with the UK-based bank [City A.M., 15 September 2011].

On the eve of the 2011 climate change conference (Conference of Parties) held in Durban, South Africa,four organisations (urgewald of Germany, BankTrack, and South Africa groups Earthlife Africa and groundWork)identified HSBC as one of the Top Twenty heaviest financiers of coal fired electricity and coal mining in the period 2005-2011. According to their report, the bank had released 4,432 million euros of such funding [Bankrolling Climate Change, urgewald et al, 2011].