Singapore’s OCBC investing US$192 million in Hong Kong, Macau to support business growth, CEO Helen Wong says
The bank also has 11 branches and 450 employees in Macau, where it had total assets of HK$32 billion as of end-2023. In the Greater Bay Area, the lender has offices in Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhuhai and Shenzhen.
Wong said Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China are key growth regions for OCBC. They accounted for 21 per cent of the bank’s profit before tax last year, compared with 6 per cent a decade ago when it bought Wing Hang Bank. The group reported profit before tax of S$8.4 billion (US$6.23 billion) last year.
China remains one of the fastest-growing major markets for OCBC, Wong said, citing its strong 5.3 per cent gross domestic product growth in the first quarter.
OCBC has invested in increasing its transaction banking capabilities in recent years to support the growth in Hong Kong, mainland China and Macau, Wang Ke, head of Greater China and CEO of OCBC Hong Kong, said at the same briefing.
To pursue its expansion plan, OCBC will hire 300 new employees in China over the next three years to upgrade its technology capabilities to provide more digital services to corporate and individual clients, he said.
Green finance is another growth area the bank is pursuing, providing sustainable finance to both small and big companies.
Wang said OCBC has arranged green loans for many Hong Kong logistics companies and China’s largest wind power producer.
This article was first published on SCMP.
