<div id="readability-page-1">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. Liu said in his new role he would lead cross-functional AI and data teams to use Hong Kong as a base to develop AI use cases for various scenarios. “Our core focus is deploying AI at scale across the entire organisation to drive clear, measurable value for customers, advisers and employees,” Liu said. “In Hong Kong and Macau, we are embedding AI across key parts of the insurance value chain, from customer service and distribution to underwriting and claims.” He said this included adopting AI to provide multilingual customer assistants, as well as providing an AI tool to support Manulife’s 11,000 agents in Hong Kong to serve their customers. The insurer will also use AI to enable faster and more consistent decisions for underwriting as well as to handle claims and to detect fraud. Liu said he did not think AI would lead to lay-offs at the insurer, but the tool was meant to support the workforce to spend more time on higher-value work that helped to meet the needs of customers. “In Asia, we have seen strong adoption, with 5.2 million AI prompts recorded in 2025 and close to 70 per cent of staff actively using AI tools as of January 2026,” he said. “While AI helps streamline processes, it is designed to enhance and support human roles, enabling greater efficiency and allowing our people to focus on higher-value work.” Meanwhile, HSBC said Rice would focus on embedding AI solutions that benefit colleagues and customers by simplifying processes and equipping staff to use AI tools to deliver personalised services for customers. “Our customers increasingly expect their bank to deliver services uniquely aligned to their specific needs, and fast,” said Georges Elhedery, group CEO of HSBC, adding that AI would play a key role in how the bank gets there. “We will empower our colleagues to use AI to create a personalised experience for each customer, deliver it safely, in real time and at scale, while keeping human judgment decision-making and accountability at the core.” HSBC had more than 100 GenAI active use cases, Elhedery said in the lender’s annual report, adding that 85 per cent of the staff used AI tools to manage documents.  C.S. Venkatakrishnan, global CEO of Barclays, said the UK lender would continue to invest in AI. “Technology is changing the way big companies do business,” he said. “We have also got to be quick in adopting AI, driving not just efficiency, but growth, and also enabling our people to skill themselves in the use of this technology.” He too believed that adopting AI might not necessarily lead to lay-offs. “There are parts of AI, which just make things more efficient, where you can do it with fewer people,” he said. “It is important for us, as one of the large employers, to train people in the use of AI and to make AI tools available for all our employees.” Carrie Leung, CEO of the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB), said most of its 89 corporate members, including all major lenders, have supported their staff to receive AI training. “However, employee mindset remains crucial, with a strong need for individuals to be self-driven and proactive in embracing AI, not just respond to it passively,” Leung said. “While AI adoption continues to redefine job roles in banking, continuous learning is the key for banking talent to stay relevant.” The HKIB, which also has over 16,000 individual members, promotes professional training. The institute last year launched over 30 AI-related courses for banking professionals. “The HKIB has been providing targeted and customised training programmes to support banks in upskilling and reskilling their employees,” she said.</div>

HSBA

00945

00005

<p>Manulife, HSBC, and Barclays are leading the adoption of AI in Hong Kong's financial sector, aligning with government initiatives. Manulife appointed new AI leadership to enhance its AI capabilities, while HSBC's new chief AI officer aims to personalize customer services. Barclays emphasizes the importance of AI for efficiency and growth. The Hong Kong Institute of Bankers supports AI training for employees, highlighting the need for proactive engagement with AI technology. Overall, these firms are investing in AI to improve operations and customer experiences without necessarily leading to job losses.</p>

- Major financial firms like Manulife, HSBC Holdings, and Barclays are increasing their AI adoption to align with the Hong Kong government's technology promotion efforts.  
- Manulife recently made key AI leadership appointments and plans to integrate AI across its operations, enhancing customer service and decision-making processes.  
- HSBC and Barclays also emphasize AI's role in improving efficiency and personalizing services, while industry leaders stress the importance of continuous learning and employee training in adapting to AI advancements.

Manulife, HSBC, Barclays lead big finance firms’ AI adoption in Hong Kong