Key facts
- Elhedery said HSBC did not disclose headcount details for the Hong Kong institute.
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology will be the institute's anchor academic partner, Elhedery said.
- HSBC plans to move the centre to the Northern Metropolis, a project bordering mainland China, once its site there is ready.
- HSBC is rolling out AI training for its entire global workforce of roughly 200,000 people, Elhedery said.
- Eddie Yue, chief executive of Hong Kong's de facto central bank, said around 80% of banks in the city are adopting AI or generative AI.
- HSBC has 28,000 local staff, making it one of Hong Kong's largest private-sector employers.
HSBC is setting up an artificial intelligence and emerging technology institute in Hong Kong, Chief Executive Georges Elhedery said at the city's Fintech Week event on November 2. The bank aims to launch the institute in the first quarter of 2027.
The unit will work with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as its anchor academic partner, Elhedery said. He did not disclose headcount details. He added that the bank would move the centre to Hong Kong's Northern Metropolis, a mega project bordering mainland China, as soon as its site there was ready.
The Hong Kong plan follows the Asia-focused lender's announcement in July that it would hire more than 100 artificial intelligence specialists at an AI centre in rival financial hub Singapore.
Elhedery said HSBC, one of Hong Kong's largest private-sector employers with 28,000 local staff, was rolling out AI training for its entire global workforce of roughly 200,000 people. "AI is going to be disruptive. It's going to transform jobs," he said.
Eddie Yue, chief executive of Hong Kong's de facto central bank, told the conference that around 80% of all banks in Hong Kong are already adopting AI or generative AI. The investment in AI transformation comes as banks globally cut staff due to AI-driven overhauls, with lenders such as Citi, Standard Chartered and Barclays unveiling plans this year to cut thousands of jobs.