Wong Kee Joo was appointed chief executive of banking group HSBC Singapore in June 2021, bringing more than 26 years of banking experience across different markets, including Thailand, China and the UK, to the role.

Prior to his latest appointment, Wong was the bank’s regional head of global payments and cash management for Asia Pacific for more than six years, where he led the bank’s regional cash management specialists in launching digital solutions for wholesale banking clients. He oversaw revenue responsibilities of more than US$4 billion per annum. His other roles include head of global liquidity and cash management at HSBC China and HSBC Thailand.

Wong’s appointment is part of HSBC’s regional growth plans, as the bank steps up its recruitment of talented individuals and invests in technology to bolster its wholesale banking services, particularly for multinational corporations headquartered in Singapore. HSBC has increased its headcount by around 10 per cent and launched offshore booking centre capabilities across its global banking and commercial banking businesses, among other initiatives, in the past three years.

The bank acquired the Singapore operations of insurance company Axa this year, making it its first global take-over in 12 years. It also announced a partnership with Temasek this year, to crowd source up to US$ 1 billion in funding for marginally bankable sustainable projects.