Common use of INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Clause in Contracts

INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. With respect to (i) any Notes to be issued by the Bank or any Branch Issuer or (ii) any Guaranteed Notes, this Offering Circular should be read and construed in conjunction with each relevant Pricing Supplement, the audited consolidated financial statements of the Bank as at and for the years ended 31 December 2018 and 2019 published on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the most recently published audited annual financial statements and any interim financial statements (whether audited or unaudited) published subsequently to such annual financial statements of the Bank from time to time on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and all amendments and supplements from time to time to this Offering Circular, which shall be deemed to be incorporated in, and to form part of, this Offering Circular and which shall be deemed to modify or supersede the contents of this Offering Circular to the extent that a statement contained in any such document is inconsistent with such contents. With respect to any Notes to be issued by any Subsidiary Issuer, an amendment or supplement to this Offering Circular or a replacement Offering Circular will be published for use in connection with offering of the relevant Notes, which should be read and construed in conjunction with each relevant Pricing Supplement. As any quarterly financial statements published on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has not been audited or reviewed by the Bank’s auditors, such interim financial information should not be relied upon by investors to provide the same quality of information associated with information that has been subject to an audit or review. Investors should exercise caution when using such data to evaluate the Group’s business, financial condition and results of operation. Copies of all such documents which are so deemed to be incorporated in, and to form part of, this Offering Circular will be available free of charge during usual business hours on any weekday (Saturdays and public holidays excepted) from the specified offices of the Paying Agents and the principal office in Hong Kong of the Principal Paying Agent (as defined under “Summary of the Programme”) (or such other Paying Agent for the time being in Hong Kong) set out at the end of this Offering Circular.