HSBC has announced plans to open a global AI & Emerging Technology Institute in Hong Kong with the aim of accelerating its internal technology adoption.

The institute will focus on using AI to tackle fraud and optimise engineering tasks, alongside AI upskilling and AI safety. It will also cover technological fields such as blockchain and post-quantum cryptography.

The bank made its announcement at the opening of Hong Kong FinTech Week, committing to open the institute in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis in early 2027.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology will act as HSBC’s academic partner for the venture, providing research expertise and connections to other academic institutions.

HSBC added that other technology partners could become involved in the institute in the near future.

This is HSBC’s second site dedicated to AI, with the bank having opened its Global AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore in July. Staffed by 100 AI specialists, the centre was founded with an initial mission to improve customer wealth management interactions and produce AI-powered digital payments solutions, the bank said at the time.

David Liao, co-chief executive, Asia Pacific and Middle East at HSBC, said: “Technology is reshaping financial services at remarkable speed. HSBC will explore the opportunities it creates thoughtfully and strategically, turning the most valuable innovations into better outcomes for our customers.

“Hong Kong offers an exceptional base to lead this work, combining deep financial- services expertise, world-class research capability and strong connections across the Chinese mainland and international markets.”

In the past 12 months, HSBC’s leadership has heavily expanded its AI usage. In March, the bank appointed David Rice as its first chief AI officer and in May, its chief executive Georges Elhedery urged staff to embrace AI while acknowledging it would cause redundancies.

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