Banking giant HSBC says an artificial intelligence and emerging technology institute it is setting up in Hong Kong is due to become operational in the first quarter of 2027.

Announcing the update at Hong Kong Fintech Week on Monday, chief executive Georges Elhedery said the city's biggest lender aims to move the institute to the Northern Metropolis once a suitable location has been identified.

For now, he said the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology will be the institute’s first anchor academic partner.

"We bring their skills and know-how and capabilities as well as our domain expertise and financial services to find and work on solutions that make our clients' lives much easier in the age of AI, but also other emerging technologies such as blockchain, quantum, etc," Elhedery said.

He framed the institute's establishment as part of HSBC's broader AI strategy to give its roughly 200,000 employees – including about 28,000 in Hong Kong – an efficiency boost.

"AI is going to be disruptive. It’s going to transform jobs. It’s going to eliminate some. It’s going to create new ones," Elhedery said.

"The first mission for us is to bring all our colleagues … on the journey with us as opposed to creating an environment where uncertainty actually prevails."

HSBC is already testing how client agents could interact with the bank’s agents to handle basic tasks, he said, though security remains a major workstream.

On AI security, Elhedery said, HSBC is constantly working to identify vulnerabilities and build more resilient systems.



Edited by Raymond Yeung