Hong Kong’s de facto central bank, the HKMA, questioned HSBC on why its new global AI centre of excellence was established in Singapore instead of Hong Kong, reflecting intensifying competition between the two Asian financial hubs. The centre, announced in July, will recruit more than 100 AI specialists to strengthen HSBC’s wealth management and payments technology. Under CEO Georges Elhedery, HSBC has pursued a radical reform programme, focusing on core markets like Hong Kong after its $14bn acquisition of Hang Seng and $2.1bn sale of its Singapore insurance business to Allianz.
The AI hub announcement aimed to reassure Singapore of HSBC’s continued commitment post-sale. HKMA has also engaged HSBC and Standard Chartered on locating more executives in Hong Kong, with Aileen Taylor recently relocated to the city. HSBC declined to comment on HKMA discussions but affirmed senior leaders are based in London and Hong Kong.
The regulator seeks to entrench Hong Kong’s status as an international financial capital amid renewed listings, wealth management growth, and executive relocations from Singapore post-Covid.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing