The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has questioned HSBC over its decision to establish a new AI hub in Singapore instead of Hong Kong, the Financial Times reported.
Two people familiar with the exchange told the newspaper that the territory’s de facto central bank approached the lender in recent months regarding the choice of location.
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HSBC unveiled the project in July, stating that the “global AI centre of excellence” would hire “more than 100 AI specialists” to support technology across its wealth management and payments divisions.
The move comes amid a broader restructuring led by chief executive Georges Elhedery, who has overseen exits from selected international operations to concentrate resources on key markets, foremost among them Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong is very sensitive to resourcing externally, especially if it’s seen as moving,” said one person familiar with the matter.
The person added that local regulators were wary of “no longer [being] the centre or the hub for the region”.
The Singapore initiative followed Elhedery’s first significant transaction since taking the helm: a $14bn deal to take full control of Hong Kong’s Hang Seng. Over the summer, HSBC also agreed to sell its Singapore insurance business to Allianz for $2.1bn.
According to one source, the subsequent AI announcement was partly intended to reaffirm the bank’s commitment to the city-state.
HSBC already maintains dedicated AI personnel across the UK and Hong Kong, and is currently constructing an AI research institute in the Chinese territory.
Beyond the AI centre, the HKMA has held talks with both HSBC and Standard Chartered regarding the placement of senior executives in Hong Kong, two people familiar with the discussions said.
HSBC declined to comment on its discussions with the HKMA regarding the Singapore facility.
Addressing the distribution of its management, HSBC stated: “We have senior leaders based in both our home markets of London and Hong Kong.”
Standard Chartered has separately relocated executives from Singapore to Hong Kong. The bank declined to comment.
One person familiar with the HKMA’s regulatory dialogues noted that requests for local executive presence are longstanding, aimed at ensuring senior decision-makers from international lenders remain directly accountable on the ground.
Another person pointed out that preserving Hong Kong’s standing as an international financial centre is one of the HKMA’s four primary statutory responsibilities, noting that central banks and regulators globally routinely encourage multinational institutions to invest within their jurisdictions.
