SINGAPORE: HSBC Holdings plans to hire around 100 artificial intelligence (AI) specialists in Singapore as it launches a new Global AI Centre of Excellence later this year.
The bank also plans to hire 100 wealth managers over the next two years as it aims to deepen relationships with affluent to high net worth individuals (HNWIs), The Edge Singapore reported.
According to Bloomberg, the new global AI centre in the city-state will initially focus on developing agentic solutions for treasury operations and AI-powered digital payment capabilities. Hired AI specialists will work with HSBC’s chief AI officer David Rice and teams across wealth management and global payment solutions.
HSBC said the centre aims to build a “pipeline of talent” in areas such as natural language processing, data science and AI governance through collaborations with local educational institutions and government agencies.
Netizens on r/singapaore, however, are still grappling what AI specialists really do. One speculated it’s to “make the company look trendy.”
Another said: “I would imagine without any AI solutions, their market cap will go down further because AI is almost compulsory to satisfy investors.”
The bank’s hiring plans follow a Bloomberg report in March that HSBC was mulling up to 20,000 job cuts, potentially affecting around 10% of its workforce.
The cuts, if carried out, would reportedly first affect non-client-facing roles in the bank’s global service centres.
Earlier in January, the bank also confirmed a Bloomberg report that it was considering selling its Singapore insurance business worth over US$1 billion (S$1.29 billion).
The move comes as HSBC continues to cut back its global footprint to boost profits and support the expansion of its wealth offerings in Asia and the Middle East, Reuters reported. /TISG
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