OCBC expects to add S$3 billion in revenue from its Asean-Greater China strategy by 2025
[HONG KONG] OCBC expects that a boost to its Asean-Greater China growth plans will add S$3 billion in revenue by 2025, on top of its current growth trajectory.
“We already have all the initiatives and opportunities identified… there is no better time than now,” said OCBC group chief executive officer Helen Wong, who expects macro trends will help the bank continue to expand and grow its business in the region.
Wong was speaking at OCBC’s Asean-Greater China Showcase on Monday (Jul 3) in Hong Kong, where the bank updated its plans to boost flows between Asean and Greater China. Speakers at the event included the bank’s head of global wholesale banking Tan Teck Long, head of global consumer financial services Sunny Quek, and Bank of Singapore CEO Jason Moo.
Wong noted that the bank has been in a good position to capture the flow business between Asean and China, which has since been amplified with China’s reopening, the rise of Asean and other geopolitical factors.
The bank has S$93 billion in total assets in Greater China, in addition to a 20 per cent stake in Bank of Ningbo. Since 2012, it has established Greater China Business Offices across Asean to capture the link between Asean and Greater China.
The strategy is also supported by the bank’s “one-group” approach, in which it adds value to customers through scale and connectivity.
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Speaking on the bank’s positioning in Greater China, Wong said: “It’s not about focusing on one geography, it’s really the linking up (of the region) that adds value.”
Wong also noted that the bank has a “very well-balanced presence” across its key markets in Asean, which is what makes the bank’s Asean-Greater China link effective in serving customers.
As part of the showcase, the bank launched a new brand and logo to present a unified front across its markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Greater China. Currently, the bank operates with different brands and logos across the markets.
The event opened with fanfare – a lion dance performance at OCBC’s office in Hong Kong celebrated the launch.
To meet its S$3 billion revenue goal, OCBC has planned various investments into its global wholesale banking and wealth management businesses.
This includes investing more than S$50 million over the next three years to grow its transactional banking capabilities in Greater China, such that it can achieve more than 500 regional mandates for cash management over the next five years.
Over the past three years, OCBC has invested over S$140 million in digital capabilities to acquire customers, drive transactions and improve customer experience.
By investing in digital capabilities, the bank hopes to intensify its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) coverage in Hong Kong to add more than 26,000 SME customers over the next three years.
It also wants to enhance the coverage of Greater China corporates that operate in Asean and increase its Greater China franchise revenue in Asean by more than 50 per cent by 2025.
OCBC is also aiming to double its investment banking revenue in three years. It will enhance its investment banking capabilities in Greater China, especially in debt issuance and syndication, and advising and financing of cross-border corporate finance deals.
In 2022, the bank posted income of S$4.8 billion for its global wholesale banking business, of which 72 per cent was from Asean and 18 per cent from Greater China.
For its wealth management segment, the bank is targeting to double its asset under management (AUM) of its Premier Banking and Premier Private Client segments for Greater China.
These segments contributed 58 per cent of the bank’s AUM in 2022.
As at Mar 31, OCBC’s group wealth management AUM rose to S$270 billion from S$258 billion in the previous quarter, amid net new money inflows and positive market valuation.
The bank will double the number of relationship managers serving such customers in Greater China by 2025.
OCBC’s private-banking subsidiary Bank of Singapore also aims to increase its AUM to US$145 billion by 2025, from US$124 billion as at Jul 3.
The private bank plans to grow its team of relationship managers to 500 by then, from more than 400 now.
Last month, OCBC launched a digital account-opening service for overseas customers relocating to Singapore, which allows foreigners to verify their details digitally and shorten the time to create an account.
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