OCBC opens new office in Hong Kong as lender plans to hire up to 15% more staff

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‘We conducted a survey and found that 70 per cent of our staff prefer to work in the office instead of working from home,’ bank says

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Frances Hui Wai-han, chief operating officer of OCBC Bank’s Hong Kong office. Photo: Dickson Lee

Enoch Yiu

Published: 8:30am, 9 Dec 2024Updated: 10:15am, 9 Dec 2024

Singaporean lender Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), the second-largest banking group in Southeast Asia, opened a new 76,000 sq ft office in Kai Tak last week as it seeks to hire more staff over the next five years, according to a senior executive.

Frances Hui Wai-han, chief operating officer of OCBC’s Hong Kong unit, said the lender is also looking to establish a new flagship branch in the next two years so it can exploit the growing wealth management opportunities and other banking business in the city.

“The new office expansion is intended to make room for new staffers,” she said in an interview. “We are seeking to hire 10 to 15 per cent more staff in Hong Kong and Macau over the next five years as we believe we can grow in these two cities. The hiring plan will be based on market environment in coming years.”

OCBC’s new two-floor office is located at Airside, a mixed-use development by Nan Fung Group. The office, which has the capacity to house 800 staffers, is a key component of the bank’s HK$1.5 billion (US$192 million) plan unveiled in May. In addition to its office upgrade, the bank will make improvements to its digital platforms.

Hui in OCBC’s new office in Kai Tak. Photo: Dickson Lee

OCBC is going against the grain as peers like DBS and Standard Chartered said after the Covid-19 pandemic that they would reduce their real estate footprints and allow for more working from home.

“We conducted a survey and found that 70 per cent of our staff prefer to work in the office instead of working from home,” Hui said. “They consider working in the office to be more comfortable and have better engagement with other colleagues.”