UOB's Dennis Khoo leaving to 'pursue other opportunities'

Singapore

DENNIS Khoo, the head of UOB's TMRW digital group - which manages UOB's mobile-only bank operations under the TMRW brand - is leaving to "pursue other opportunities", the bank said on Monday.

Bloomberg reported on Monday that a consortium backed by TikTok owner ByteDance plans to hire Dr Khoo, citing unidentified sources. The Business Times reported in January that ByteDance has applied for a digital bank licence in Singapore.

UOB said Kevin Lam, the current country CEO of UOB Indonesia, has been appointed to take over as head of UOB's TMRW digital group.

Mr Lam joined UOB in 2005 and has held senior roles over the years across functions and markets, including in personal financial services, wholesale banking, and technology and operations.

He also spent six years at UOB Malaysia, before being appointed as country CEO of UOB Indonesia in 2016.

Before joining UOB, Mr Lam worked in various international banks and technology companies based in Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States.

UOB has launched TMRW in Thailand and Indonesia, with the mobile-only bank aimed at millennials. The bank, with a history of more than 80 years, has said it would launch TMRW in several markets in Asean.

In an interview with BT that ran in January, Dr Khoo said UOB has projected a S$10 billion market opportunity in Asean through TMRW - with its brandname an abbreviation of tomorrow.

The bank's S$10 billion projection reflects the lifetime value of young professionals in Asean, he said then, given an expected surge in demand for more complex financial instruments that will ramp up TMRW's asset base.