HSBC has beaten expectations with a 10 percent rise in first-half profit. The unexpected jump has been driven by a strong performance in Hong Kong.<br /><br /> Europe’s biggest bank said pretax profits for the first six months were 13.6 billion dollars up from 12.3 a year earlier and well above some analysts forecasts.<br /><br /> The bank has become increasingly reliant on Hong Kong as its businesses in Europe, the United States and other emerging markets slowed.<br /><br /> HSBC also announced it agreed the sale of its unprofitable Brazil unit to Banco Bradesco the country’s second biggest private-sector bank for 5.2 billion dollars.
