Media365
Manulife, HSBC Holdings and Barclays are among the big financial firms that have announced plans to boost their adoption of artificial intelligence, in line with the Hong Kong government’s efforts to promote the use of the technology.
Manulife last week said it had relocated Mark Czajkowski, chief AI officer for Asia, to Hong Kong from Singapore, and had appointed Liu Hongjuan as chief AI and data officer of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau, a newly created post, on March 9.
HSBC Holdings, the city’s biggest lender, appointed David Rice, previously the chief operating officer for corporate and institutional banking, as its first chief AI officer from April 1.
The AI leadership appointments show that big financial players have stepped up their efforts to adopt AI. This comes after Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po launched an AI+ strategy in this year’s budget to promote AI applications in the banking sector and AI literacy at all levels of society.
“As Manulife accelerates its ambition to become an AI-powered organisation, we continue to strengthen our AI leadership and investment in Hong Kong, reinforcing the city’s role as an AI innovation hub,” Liu said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.
