OCBC eyes doubling profit to $1b from China's Greater Bay Area

It will invest $200m in the area within the next five years.

Bloomberg reported that OCBC targets to double its profit to $1b in 2023 from the Greater Bay Area of China. With its presence in Hong Kong, Macau, and nearby mainland cities, the firm has started expansion around Guangdong.

“This will be a new economic region of which there will be focused attention from both the public sector and the private sector,” OCBC CEO Samuel Tsien said.

The bank will put $200m worth of investment in the area in the next five years which includes a 40% increase of its manpower to more than 4,200. In 2014, OCBC acquired Hong Kong’s Wing Hang Bank Ltd. in 2014 to gain more access to Chinese companies that are expanding in Southeast Asia.

The firm had $35b of outstanding customer loans in the Greater Bay Area in 2017 and expects the balance to grow 15% annually through 2023, Tsien said. It’s assessing ways to expand its China private wealth and fund management businesses, he added.

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