HSBC will establish an artificial intelligence and emerging-technology institute in Hong Kong, with operations due to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
Chief executive Georges Elhedery announced the plan at Hong Kong's Fintech Week, with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology serving as the institute's anchor academic partner.
The banking giant has not disclosed how many staff it will assign to the operation, though the bank already employs roughly 150 AI specialists in Hong Kong and plans to double that number within two to three years.
The institute will initially run from Hong Kong before relocating to the Northern Metropolis, a development zone near the mainland Chinese border, once a suitable site becomes available.
Initial work will cover AI training and safety, fraud detection, engineering optimisation, post-quantum cryptography and blockchain.
This will extend a regional build-out that began with HSBC's AI centre in Singapore, where it said in July it would hire more than 100 specialists.
The bank is also rolling out AI training across its roughly 200,000-strong global workforce, including 28,000 staff in Hong Kong. "AI is going to be disruptive. It's going to transform jobs," Elhedery said.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Eddie Yue said at the same event that roughly 80% of the territory's banks have started using AI or generative AI.
And he announced Project SAGE, an initiative to enable AI agents in financial services while managing associated risks.
The regulator will convene an expert panel to assess agent interoperability and consult industry on governance, a trusted-agent register and a "know your agent" standard.
Yue said it would also extend tokenised Exchange Fund Bills trials and weigh regulated stablecoins for payments: "Innovation and risk management must go hand in hand."
The build-out comes as Citi, Standard Chartered and Barclays have each announced plans this year to cut thousands of jobs under AI-related restructuring.
