He adds: “Despite the challenging external environment, [in 1Q2025], we were able to group our Hong Kong revenue by 14% y-o-y to HK$1.94 billion.” OCBC Hong Kong’s whilesale banking business’s collaboration with Asean grew by 17% y-o-y while premiue rbaning customers grew by 30% y-o-y in 1Q.
“Our strategy in Greater China remains the same. We continue to support Greater China customers into SE Asia,” he says.
During the briefing, Rickie Chan (Head of Private Banking for Greater China and Chief Executive of Bank of Singapore’s Hong Kong Branch) told media that AUM grew by 20% in 1Q. He highlighted the performance of the bank’s discretionary portfolio management (DPM) segment which grew revenue by 25% in the first quarter.
“We have been successful in recruiting talent and grew relationship managers (RM) by 11%. Close to 60% of new hires in 2024 are very senior, experienced RMs who are successful in attracting new clients. We doubled the number of accounts opened y-o-y in 1Q,” Chan says.
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His main priorities are client segmentation; and capability and offering. “We are keen to focus on ultra-high net worth, and financial intermediaries or FIM,” he says.
During the Q&A session, group CEO Helen Wong points out that Asia continues to grow, albeit at slower rates. “We continue to see the flow between Greater China and Asean.”
She adds is maintaining its guidance articulated in February. “We can’t comment on the whole year because the uncertainty is still there, but we are well capitalised and we’ve set aside more provisions.”
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“I look back on Covid and in 2020 when we won the best managed bank during Covid and we take that experience into this crisis,” Wong says.
When asked about commercial real estate in China, Wong says that China is in the process of implementing policies to solve its real estate problem including residential oversupply, and developers’ default. Chinese developers are restructuring after defaulting on dollar and local bonds.
“We feel more positive. I wouldn’t say the whole issue will be resolved but we have reached the bottom and have some positivity for the market to turn up. It won’t be a V-shaped but I feel we have passed the worst,” Wong says.
Sectors which are likely to experience growth during the tariff war are likely to technology-related. These are TMT, (technology media and telcos), e-sports, fintech, and medtech. and the like.
Wong points out that infrastructure development continues. Singapore is building another runway and has broken ground for Changi Airport Terminal 5. In Johor, data centre development continues.
Wealth management continues to play a big part in OCBC’s North Asia growth. “The entire Greater China is very exciting. We have the fastest growth among the three wealth management hubs (Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai). We see a lot of potential from this area especially from the Bank of Singapore. We see a lot of opportunities from the Mainland in net new money (NNM). If they open an account, we can get in US$100 million (per account). I’ve approved accounts where the customers own a few buildings and they collect rent of HK$200 million (a year),” Chan says.
