Banking giant HSBC said Monday it would cut about 25,000 jobs globally by 2013, despite a better-than-expected performance in the first half of this year.

The bank reported a pre-tax profit of 11.5 billion U.S. dollars for the first six months of 2011, up 3 percent year-on-year, and 45 percent higher than the second half of 2010.

HSBC said earlier this year that it would cut 5,000 jobs following operation restructuring in Latin America, the United States, Britain, France and the Middle East.

"There will be further job cuts," HSBC CEO Stuart Gulliver said in a conference call. He estimated that around 25,000 staff would leave by the end of 2013.

The total cuts took up about 10 percent of HSBC'S overall work force around the world.

The job cuts form part of Gulliver's plan to slash costs and focus on HSBC's Asian operations.

HSBC said on Sunday it would sell 195 U.S. branches to First Niagara Financial for about 1 billion U.S. dollars in cash, and would shut down another 13 of the 470 sites it had.

The bank also intends to sell HSBC's U.S. credit card portfolio, which has over 30 billion U.S. dollars in asset.

Earlier, HSBC had said it will close its retail banking operations in Russia and Poland as well as selling three insurance businesses so as to free up 2.5 to 3.5 billion U.S. dollars by 2013.

Share price of HSBC at London stock market surged over 4 percent by midday Monday.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet