OCBC is banking on China’s improving economic condition and resultant positive spillovers into Asia as key growth drivers, as it plans further investments into its services across the Greater China region.
The bank aims to invest HK$1.5 billion (S$259.1 million) into its technology and facilities in Greater China – which includes the China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan markets – over the next three years.
This will be used to modernise its technology platforms, channels and products, group chief executive Helen Wong announced on Wednesday (May 29).
To support its digital upgrades, the bank also aims to expand its regional engineering hub and hire around 300 new talents over the next three years.
“I believe China offers the business opportunities helping the whole of Asia to grow… (and) offering the talent and technology that we would be very happy to use,” said Wong.
She was speaking at a media briefing covering the bank’s updated investment plans in Greater China, held at Regent hotel in Hong Kong. Speakers at the event include Wang Ke, the bank’s head of Greater China and Hong Kong CEO, and Rickie Chan, OCBC Greater China head of private banking and Bank of Singapore Hong Kong CEO.
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This comes as the group works towards its goal of adding S$3 billion in revenue from its Asean-Greater China strategy by 2025. The target was first announced close to a year ago when the bank launched a new brand and logo to present a unified front across its markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China.
Of the intended HK$1.5 billion investment, HK$1 billion will be poured into modernising its platforms, covering key domains of technology architecture and embedding artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into various business domains.
OCBC aims to achieve 90 per cent system standardisation in Hong Kong within the next three years for its channels and services, products, management and control, as well as infrastructure.
OCBC’s Hong Kong CEO Wang said the addition of AI capabilities will enable new capabilities and boost productivity, supporting both the Hong Kong and Macau markets.
Wang said that the remaining investment of HK$500 million will go into “workplace upgrades”, adding that the company is signing a new office lease in Hong Kong, which would make it more convenient for staff to commute to work.
