HSBC, the top lender in Hong Kong, on Tuesday resumed its share repurchase programme, earmarking US$1 billion to buy back shares over the next three months, its first since October, according to a stock exchange filing.The bank said in October it had to pause share buy-backs for three quarters to conserve capital for its US$14 billion acquisition of subsidiary Hang Seng Bank. The market had widely expected HSBC to resume repurchases in the July-to-September quarter, with estimates ranging from US$1.5 billion to US$2 billion.The buy-back was announced after HSBC’s second-quarter pre-tax profit rose 60 per cent to US$10.15 billion, compared with US$6.33 billion a year earlier. This was higher than the US$9.5 billion estimated by 22 analysts in polling conducted by HSBC. Earnings per share stood at 45 US cents.HSBC will pay a quarterly dividend of 10 US cents per share alongside the buy-back. This is the same declared in the same quarter a year earlier.More to follow …