HSBC buys out Hang Seng Bank for $37 billion, strengthening its position in Asia. AMD is surging after a deal with OpenAI, which could get up to 10% of the chipmaker's shares. Nvidia, for its part, has received US authorization to export chips to the UAE. About these and other topics - in our review of key events by the morning of October 9.

HSBC buys out Hang Seng Bank for $37 billion, shares soar nearly 30%

Shares in Hong Kong's Hang Seng Bank jumped 29.5% after HSBC announced plans to fully buy out its subsidiary, valuing it at more than HK$290 billion (about $37 billion), CNBC reports. HSBC offered shareholders HK$155 ($19.9) per share - 33% above the average price over the past 30 days.

HSBC chief Georges Elhederi said the bank will retain the Hang Seng brand and heritage while investing in technology and product development. The deal, he said, confirms HSBC's confidence in Hong Kong as a key financial center and a "bridge" between China and global markets.

Analysts believe the privatization will eliminate long-standing corporate governance problems due to dual listing. Meanwhile, Hang Seng Bank is facing a rising share of bad loans, reaching 6.69% of its total portfolio - mainly due to difficulties in the Chinese and Hong Kong real estate market.

AMD is up 43% in a week after the OpenAI deal

AMD shares rose 11% on Wednesday, continuing their meteoric rise after news of OpenAI's plans to buy billions of dollars worth of AI hardware from the company, CNBC writes. Under the terms of the agreement, OpenAI can receive up to 10% of AMD shares if certain partnership metrics are met.

AMD's market capitalization has reached $380 billion - an increase of 43% since the beginning of the week. If this pace continues in the remaining two trading days, this week could be the best week for the company's stock since 2016. Investors see the partnership with OpenAI as a chance for AMD to strengthen its position against Nvidia in the artificial intelligence chip market.

AMD CEO Lisa Su called the deal "mutually beneficial" and stressed that its AI chips are suitable for the largest data centers. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called the agreement "surprising and original," noting that OpenAI took a bold step by agreeing to a stake in the company before the release of the next generation of chips.

US approves billions of dollars worth of Nvidia chip exports to UAE

The U.S. has authorized several billion dollars worth of Nvidia chip exports to the United Arab Emirates, Bloomberg reports. The licenses were issued as part of a bilateral agreement on artificial intelligence, concluded in May, and are aimed at supporting the construction of data centers in the UAE.

According to preliminary reports, the Emirates will be able to import up to 500,000 advanced Nvidia AI chips annually starting in 2025, at least until 2027, and possibly 2030. Nvidia declined to comment.

The White House has said it fully supports a strategic AI partnership with the UAE. Donald Trump has previously emphasized strengthening ties with Gulf states, announcing $600 billion in deals in the region, including purchases of chips from Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm.

Google is defending the right to link Gemini to YouTube and Maps

Google insists on the right to combine its AI service Gemini with popular applications YouTube and Maps, said the company's lawyer John Schmidtline at a hearing in the U.S. federal court, Bloomberg reports. So the corporation responded to the proposal of the Department of Justice, requiring a ban on such practices. According to Google, it has no monopoly neither in the field of AI, nor in the segments of maps and video services.

Judge Amit Mehta, who previously found Google to be a monopoly in search and advertising, is now forming measures to remedy the violations. He has already banned the company from paying partners for exclusive use of Search and Chrome, but left some payments permissible. The DOJ, however, is demanding that the same restrictions apply to Gemini.

Google claims that combining the services gives users a convenient ecosystem. Meanwhile, YouTube and Maps are dominant: the video platform generates more advertising revenue than all four major US TV channels combined, and Google Maps is used by more than 2 billion people worldwide.

What's in the markets

- Japan's broad Topix index was up 0.5%. The benchmark Nikkei 225 was adding about 1.7%.

- In South Korea, the stock exchanges are closed.

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.25 percent.

- Futures on the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor

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