Banking major HSBC will establish an artificial intelligence and emerging technology institute in Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2027, Group Chief Executive Georges Elhedery said.
The move comes as the global bank steps up investment in AI, blockchain, and quantum computing amid growing adoption of the technologies across financial services.
Elhedery announced the initiative during a panel discussion at Hong Kong FinTech Week and StartmeupHK 2026 and said the institute would be developed with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as its founding academic partner.
He said HSBC plans to relocate the institute to Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis once a suitable location becomes available, potentially in early 2028.
The institute will combine the university’s research capabilities with HSBC’s financial services expertise to develop solutions for customers navigating the adoption of AI and other emerging technologies.
“We are setting here in Hong Kong an AI and emerging technology institute,” Elhedery said.
The initiative would focus on making clients’ lives easier through AI, blockchain, and quantum technologies.
The announcement comes as financial institutions move beyond experimenting with generative AI towards deploying AI agents capable of interacting with customers, supporting decisions, and carrying out tasks with limited human intervention.
Elhedery said HSBC was pursuing three main objectives in its AI strategy: equipping employees with AI capabilities, redesigning banking operations and delivering more personalised services to customers.
The bank has about 200,000 employees globally, including approximately 28,000 in Hong Kong. It is providing AI training, productivity tools and knowledge resources to help staff adapt to the technology.
HSBC is also using AI to rethink processes such as know-your-customer checks, customer due diligence, fraud detection, financial crime monitoring and credit applications.
The longer-term ambition is to allow customers’ AI agents to communicate directly with the bank’s own agents, enabling routine banking tasks to be completed more quickly.
Elhedery said HSBC was already testing how such interactions could work, although security considerations remain an important part of the development process.
