Dhaka, July 30 -- HSBC Holdings, opens new tab reported a 26 per cent slide in first-half pretax profit on Wednesday, missing analyst estimates, as impairments from its investment in Bank of Communications (601328.SS), opens new tab and exposure to Hong Kong real estate weighed.

Europe's largest bank posted a pretax profit of $15.8 billion for the first six months of this year, versus $21.6 billion a year earlier, reports Reuters.

The result compared with the $16.5 billion average of broker estimates compiled by HSBC.

The sharper-than-expected drop in HSBC's earnings showed the challenge ahead for CEO Georges Elhedery, as the bank racked up losses in China where it has increasingly pinned its plans for growth in recent years after shri...