HSBC will establish an AI and emerging technology institute in Hong Kong, with operations expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027, reported Reuters.
Chief executive Georges Elhedery announced the plan at Hong Kong’s Fintech Week.
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Hong Kong University of Science and Technology will be the institute’s anchor academic partner, although HSBC has not disclosed the number of employees it expects to assign to the operation.
The bank plans to move the institute to the Northern Metropolis after a suitable site in the development becomes available.
The project is located near the border with mainland China.
HSBC’s Hong Kong initiative follows its July announcement that it would hire more than 100 artificial intelligence specialists for an AI centre in Singapore.
The bank is also introducing AI training for its global workforce of about 200,000 employees, including 28,000 staff in Hong Kong.
“AI is going to be disruptive. It’s going to transform jobs,” Elhedery said.
Eddie Yue, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), said roughly 80% of banks in Hong Kong have started using AI or generative AI.
At the same event, Yue said the HKMA would launch Project SAGE, an initiative intended to enable the use of AI agents in financial services while addressing related risks.
The regulator will convene a cross-sector expert panel to assess AI agent applications and interoperability.
It will also collect industry feedback on governance, accountability, a central register of trusted agents, and a potential “know your agent” standard.
“Innovation and risk management must go hand in hand,” Yue said.
Yue said the HKMA would extend its tokenised Exchange Fund Bills trials and consider whether regulated stablecoins could be used for payments.
The expansion comes as lenders review staffing and operating models in response to AI adoption.
Separately, Citi, Standard Chartered, and Barclays have announced plans this year to eliminate thousands of jobs as part of AI-related restructuring programmes.
