The Zhitong Finance App learned that HSBC Holdings (00005) Asia and Middle East Co-CEO David Liao (David Liao) said that HSBC currently has a team of 150 artificial intelligence specialists in Hong Kong and will continue to expand. The number of people is expected to double to about 300 in the next two to three years. He stressed that HSBC has been using Hong Kong as its “home ground” for over 160 years and is also an AI investment and application hub. It is confident in Hong Kong's prospects and has never stopped investing in Hong Kong.
According to reports, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority once questioned why HSBC established the “Global Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence” in Singapore rather than Hong Kong. Liao Yijian said that as a large international financial institution, it is normal for HSBC to expand its team in different markets around the world. He reiterated that Hong Kong is HSBC's decision-making hub in Asia and the Middle East, and is also one of the Group's two major hubs. Currently, 4 members of the Group Management Committee are based in Hong Kong.
He quoted Group CEO Georges Elhedery (Georges Elhedery) as saying that HSBC will establish a global artificial intelligence research institute in Hong Kong and is expected to start operations in early 2027. The research institute initially focused on AI application cases, post-quantum cryptography and blockchain technology, and was equipped with at least 35 experts to improve banking services and operations to benefit customers across the Group.
In the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Generative Artificial Intelligence (GeNAi) sandbox program, HSBC has successfully tested two use cases: using GenAI to convert text into sign language to make it easier for hearing-impaired customers to obtain information and use banking services; the other is testing the ability to identify deeply falsified selfies and altered identity documents in the Electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) process to counter the growing threat of fraud.
Liu Yi-kin revealed that HSBC is building an all-weather, real-time and trustworthy infrastructure to help customers allocate capital, conduct transactions and expand business across Asia, and use Hong Kong as a hub for digital asset and currency business. He described Hong Kong as a “super contact” connecting the mainland and the world, and will become a global highland for promoting the development of artificial intelligence.