Grants on August 27th: bank of e asia (0023.HK) reported a half-year net profit of 2.111 billion Hong Kong dollars, down 19.9% year-on-year, with a 13.9% decrease in half-year dividend to 0.31 Hong Kong dollars. Jefferies financial released a report, based on macro uncertainty, downgraded the rating of bank of e asia from "buy" to "hold", with the target price lowered from 11.5 Hong Kong dollars to 10 Hong Kong dollars. Jefferies financial stated that bank of e asia's performance in the first half of the year met expectations, provisions were considered conservative, but the recovery of return on equity may be overshadowed by unclear macro outlook. Investors are advised to continue monitoring the stock, but factors such as net interest income peaking make it unlikely for bank of e asia to undergo significant valuation reassessment in the short term.