Tag: OCBC

Hong Kong – OCBC Hong Kong has announced that it has entered into an agreementto sell its entire 33.33% stake, represented by 290,000,000 ordinary shares in the capital of Hong Kong Life Insurance to Yue Xiu Enterprises.

The net asset value of the entire Hong Kong Life was HK$1,024m as at 31 December 2023 (approximately S$180m). The consideration for the sale shares is HK$589.3m (approximately S$103m), payable upon completion and will be satisfied wholly in cash. 

“The consideration was arrived at following arm’s length negotiations on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis, taking into account among others, factors such as the net asset value and the embedded value,” OCBC said in a statement.

The completion of the transaction will be conditional upon customary closing conditions including but not limited to regulatory approvals. 

Upon completion of the sale of the Sale Shares, Hong Kong Life will cease to be an associated company of OCBC Hong Kong and OCBC Bank. 

The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on the net tangible assets or earnings per share of OCBC Group for the financial year ending 31 December 2024. 

Singapore – OCBC has set up a dedicated team each in Singapore and Malaysia to support SME customers across its core markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR to capture opportunities arising from the planned Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). OCBC expects to expand the number of teams beyond Singapore and Malaysia in future.

To kickstart this initiative, two specialized teams of 25 seasoned bankers—each with an average of over a decade of experience supporting SMEs across the region—will spearhead efforts to assist businesses. These teams will offer advisory services to help SMEs launch and expand their operations while facilitating connections with appropriate partners within the special economic zone.

The JS-SEZ is set to become a significant driver of Johor’s economic growth. Its announcement has already spurred investment in the construction and property sectors, supported by ongoing advancements in infrastructure projects such as the Rapid Transit System. Johor’s strategic location, with its ports, proximity to Singapore’s established manufacturing hub, affordable living costs, and a track record of sound economic policies, positions it strongly for success as the JS-SEZ develops.

OCBC, in collaboration with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), organized a familiarization tour on December 11 to showcase key economic hubs in Johor Bahru. The visit included Forest City and the EcoWorld Business Park, an integrated industrial and commercial hub, and was attended by 28 mid-sized enterprises from Singapore and China operating in the manufacturing sector.

As part of the event, a roundtable discussion was held, where MIDA provided insights into Malaysia’s investment opportunities and business environment. Additionally, representatives from Wiwynn Technology Service Malaysia and Huirui Polymers Sdn Bhd shared their firsthand experiences of conducting business in Malaysia, offering valuable perspectives to the participants.

Tan Teck Long, head of global wholesale banking at OCBC, said, “Though details of the JS-SEZ have not been shared, we have already received many enquiries from SMEs across the region to set up shop there. By setting up dedicated teams on both sides of the Causeway, we are well placed to support this growing interest of regional SMEs in entering the Johor and wider Malaysia market.”

He added, “Recent geopolitical developments, the continued rise of ASEAN for supply chain diversity and resilience, and the significant growth of foreign direct investments into Malaysia these two years will further amplify the potential of the JS-SEZ.”

The bank expects to have supported about 260 new mid-sized enterprises from the region, mainly from the services, construction, manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade sectors, to set up their businesses in Malaysia in 2024 alone. Given the growing interest in the JS-SEZ, OCBC expects this number to increase by 20% in 2025.

Indonesia – Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) and CIMB are reportedly competing for a controlling stake in Bank Pan Indonesia (Panin Bank), according to three sources familiar with the matter.

According to a Reuters report, two unnamed sources revealed that Singapore-based OCBC and Malaysia’s CIMB have submitted non-binding offers for the stake held by Australian lender ANZ and Indonesia’s Gunawan family, the founders of Jakarta-listed Panin Bank in 1971. 

This development comes after Reuters reported in October that ANZ and the Gunawan family were considering selling their combined controlling stake in the bank, where they hold significant ownership.

The Gunawan family, which currently owns 46.52% of Panin Bank, is reportedly open to reducing its stake and relinquishing control of the bank. According to three anonymous sources cited by Reuters, this move aligns with ANZ’s long-standing efforts to exit its investment in Panin Bank, which have been hindered by ongoing valuation concerns.

ANZ currently holds a 39.22% stake in Panin Bank, while the Gunawan family owns 46.52%, according to London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) data. Together, their combined controlling stake is valued at approximately $2.4b, based on Monday’s closing price of 1,900 rupiah ($0.1197) per share, LSEG data reveals.

The reported sale has attracted interest from major Southeast Asian banks, including OCBC and CIMB, as they compete for control of a bank with a diverse portfolio spanning consumer financing to private wealth, as well as a strong foothold in the fast-growing Indonesian market.

According to Reuters, Panin Bank’s shares surged by nearly 9% on Tuesday, with a 7.9% increase to 2,050 rupiah each at the midday break. Additionally, LSEG data revealed that the bank’s shares have risen 58.3% year-to-date, bringing its total market value to $2.84b.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the deal, confirmed that non-binding bids for the stake are expected by the end of this month.

On Tuesday, LSEG data showed that Panin Bank was trading at a price-to-book ratio of 0.88, in line with peers like Bank CIMB Niaga and Bank Permata, which had ratios of 0.88 and 0.86, respectively. However, it was higher than Bank OCBC NISP’s ratio of 0.78 and Bank Maybank Indonesia’s 0.56.

Singapore – Stellar Ace, an out-of-home (OOH) advertising company and business arm of SMRT, has introduced a new advertising format on pedestrian overhead bridges.

Called the ‘SkyWalk’, Stellar Ace’s new OOH format enables advertisers to engage with motorists and commuters. The panels can accommodate advertisements up to 10 metres in length and 1.5 meters in height.

The SkyWalk builds on the company’s large OOH formats, including the ‘SubWalk,’ which can be found in underpasses, and ‘LinkWalk,’ which is in covered linkways.

The large-format advertising panels aim to provide advertisers with wider reach, leveraging geographic targeting to engage local communities. With its presence in the public transport system, Stellar Ace allows advertisers to reach commuters, drivers, and pedestrians.

Financial services group OCBC has become the first to take on the SkyWalk panel, using it to promote its Seagrass Restoration Project.

Koh Ching Ching, head of group brand & communications at OCBC, commented, “It is exciting to be the first advertiser in Singapore to dive into showcasing the OCBC Seagrass Restoration Project on pedestrian overhead bridges. We chose the bridges in locations such as Queenstown and Tampines for its high-traffic and prominent locations. Such larger-than-life billboards works for us because of the campaign’s visually-impactful image of a mermaid under the sea with a dugong among a lush seagrass meadow.”

“The platform is a powerful medium to capture the attention of passerbys and motorists about the importance of restoring depleting seagrass for climate action. Many think little or even nothing about seagrass. Kudos to Stellar Ace for the innovative idea to utilise these overhead bridges,” Koh added.

“The importance of this environmental campaign on Singapore’s seagrass conservation and restoration efforts is critical to marine biodiversity. Innovative OOH advertising solutions such as ‘SkyWalk’ allows OCBC to reach the right people in an efficient, cost-effective, eye-catching way,” Tony Heng, managing director of Stellar Ace and president of Stellar Lifestyle, said.

“Stellar Ace continues to innovate and expand its omni-channel OOH network and high frequency touchpoints to support advertisers’ demand for effective means of amplifying their campaign messages to the right audience in an impactful and compelling way. The large-format panels are all designed with that objective in mind,” Tjhin Poi Chung, deputy managing director of Stellar Ace, commented.

Singapore – OCBC and Disney have announced a five-year strategic collaboration across three of the bank’s five core markets – Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The collaboration helps OCBC’s ambition to grow its new-to-bank customers in Southeast Asia four times within five years.

OCBC will be the first regional bank in Southeast Asia to roll out a comprehensive programme that includes branded card designs, marketing activations and financial literacy content inspired by Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars characters and stories. 

These will enable OCBC to create special retail banking experiences and products, including a rewards programme that features Disney+ Premium or Disney+ Hotstar Premium subscriptions in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as special Disney-themed premiums.

By mid-2025, select OCBC cards and bank accounts will feature Disney designs or be bundled with Disney premiums and merchandise, such as limited edition OCBC pins.

The collaboration kicked off in Singapore with the soft launch of the OCBC MyOwn Account on the OCBC app. For the official launch of the OCBC MyOwn Account, OCBC will deck out its Wisma Atria branch with Disney- and- Marvel-themed photo zones, featuring beloved characters such as Stitch, Elsa and Anna, Iron Man, Captain America and Spider-Man. This is the first time in Singapore where consumers will have the opportunity to ‘meet and greet’ a special friend from Disney’s Stitch.

Financial literacy content in the form of comics, activity sheets and resources for young savers will be available digitally on the OCBC app, OCBC website, and in print at the OCBC Wisma Atria branch, to be used with guidance from teachers and parents. These comics feature beloved Disney characters Ralph and Vanellope from Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph. 

The comics provide financial literacy tips using Disney stories to make the reading experience more engaging and relatable. More than 100,000 physical copies of the comic will also be distributed to students at 110 secondary schools in Singapore.

Sunny Quek, head of global consumer financial services at OCBC, said, “We deeply value collaborations that drive beyond-banking experiences for our customers and enable us to differentiate ourselves in the market. We are excited to be the first bank in Southeast Asia to launch Disney-themed cards and offer customers special experiences inspired by Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars characters and stories. Disney characters evoke an enchanting and nostalgic emotional connection that resonates with the young and young at heart.”

He added, “Collaborations like these enable us to attract new customers and bring to the market products and services that are not based on pricing or rates alone. I am therefore confident we will accelerate our acquisition of new-to-bank customers across our Southeast Asia core markets in five years.”

OCBC’s rewards programme will benefit select debit and credit cardholders, as well as OCBC 360 Account customers in Singapore and Malaysia, and Young Nyala Account customers in Indonesia.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Despite improvements from the previous year, only 46% of MSMEs have fully separated their business and personal finances, which could impact cash flow and business sustainability. This is according to the latest data from PT Bank OCBC NISP Tbk (OCBC) and NielsenIQ (NIQ) Indonesia’s Business Fitness Index (BFI).

The data showed that MSMEs registered as business entities tend to have a better understanding of financial management systems and business risk planning. This results in a healthier financial score of 60.2, compared to those without an entity, who score 47.4. 

This is attributed to having clearer and measurable business plans, targeted business strategies, and proper, regular, and orderly financial recording, which can serve as an accurate basis and benchmark for business continuity.

Moreover, with separate business accounts, financial record-keeping can become more organised and well-documented. The good news is, the awareness amongst MSMEs in Indonesia regarding meticulous financial record-keeping has increased, evidenced by 77% of MSME operators who have already conducted financial accounting or bookkeeping. However, of those who have done financial record-keeping, 77% still perform it manually.

The report also showed MSMEs in Indonesia are improving in financial management as seen from the increase in scores for maintaining cash reserves, influenced by higher income compared to expenditure. Hence, generally, this year the financial health score of MSMEs has increased to 48 compared to last year’s 43.8. Although there has been an increase, this score is still in the ‘caution’ category and far from the ideal score of 75.

MSMEs have also begun to harness digitalization in their marketing efforts. Up to 81% of MSMEs already have social media accounts, yet only 35% understand and maximize its features. Regarding the intensity of usage, 46% of MSMEs with social media accounts are not active enough in their use. 

The utilisation of e-commerce/online platforms is also not optimal, with only 17% of MSMEs using this platform. This means MSMEs must be more proactive in exploring digital platforms that can connect them with customers and potentially expand their business scope.

Sari Kartika, SME proposition division head at OCBC, said, “Separating business and personal income is an essential first step for MSMEs to advance to the next level, especially by utilizing a business entity identity. However, many entrepreneurs face challenges in opening business accounts, mostly related to processing time and documentation requirements.”

Lastly, the research shows that currently, both female and male entrepreneurs are increasingly optimistic about their business capabilities. Interestingly, 23% of male entrepreneurs agree that female entrepreneurs are better at managing business finances and securing business capital, compared to 10% who stated males are better. Meanwhile, male entrepreneurs are considered more capable in critical aspects, such as making business decisions, facing business challenges, and allocating more time for business.

Inggit Primadevi, director of consumer insights at NIQ Indonesia, commented, “Research results show that 80% of MSMEs are not registered as business entities, and only 3% of Indonesian MSMEs are registered as single shareholder limited companies. Among those registered, small enterprises are the majority, while micro enterprises are significantly lower. These results indicate a need for improvement to elevate MSMEs to the next level.”

Singapore – OCBC has unveiled a new brand campaign across its core markets, solidifying its One Group approach to capitalise on wealth and business opportunities in ASEAN and Greater China.

As a follow-up to 2023’s launch of the bank’s brand refresh, GOVT Singapore has developed a new campaign that spans 5 markets across the region.

The campaign kicks off with two films shot by Desmond Tan from Atypical Films, supported by Fuse. Both “Perfect Fit” and “Greater Heights” tell different, human stories about one’s purpose in life. Both stories were developed to support the bank’s purpose to empower aspirations all across ASEAN and Greater China. 

It is also supported by ATL visuals that will run as an integrated campaign in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and China, including Hong Kong SAR.

Koh Ching Ching, head of group brand and communications at OCBC Bank, said: “Through the two films, we hope to share that as OCBC helps to realise your aspirations, our solution is perfect only if it perfectly fits for you, and that we will walk the journey together with you to achieve greater heights. This is OCBC’s Purpose. GOVT Singapore has successfully created a compelling campaign that brings it to life with OCBC’s capabilities and the strengths of our connectivity across ASEAN and Greater China weaved in.” 

Meanwhile, Tim Chan, executive creative director at GOVT Singapore, commented, “We’ve been working with the bank for almost 8 years now. This long-term partnership is one that we value deeply, and this year’s campaign is another one that we’re massively proud of. Kudos to the team and our external partners.”

GOVT Singapore has been the lead creative agency for OCBC Bank since 2017, and has been responsible for some of the brand’s iconic campaigns including Stay True, The Financial Wellness Index, Simply Spot On, Imperfect Journeys and more. 

Singapore – OCBC has announced that it is offering a S$1.4 billion voluntary unconditional general offer for the 11.56% stake in Great Eastern that it does not currently own. For the bank, this move is aimed at strengthening OCBC’s business pillars of banking, wealth management and insurance, and optimising its capital to enhance shareholder returns.

With the Offer, OCBC intends to increase its investment in Great Eastern beyond its current stake of 88.44%, with a view to delisting the insurer from the SGX-ST.

OCBC’s corporate strategy gained strong momentum in 2023, leveraging OCBC’s strengths to capitalise on the vast opportunities in one of the world’s fastest-growing regions. The offer is therefore in line with OCBC’s strategy to solidify its wealth management leadership position to drive growth by capturing rising Asian wealth.

Helen Wong, chief executive officer at OCBC Group, said, “The offer is a natural progression of OCBC’s strategy. We have moved intentionally to build up a strong wealth management franchise by hiring the best people and instituting best practices and processes, and raising our investment in Great Eastern. We have been looking at opportunities to best use our capital and believe the Offer allows us to deploy our resources into a key business that is expected to be earnings accretive to OCBC.”

The offer is expected to be earnings accretive to OCBC. Great Eastern provides diversification to OCBC’s earnings base to deliver balanced earnings growth through economic cycles. Great Eastern has contributed an average of about S$700m annually in net profit to OCBC over the past 10 years, which translates to an average of about 15% of OCBC’s annual net profit over this period.

Wong added, “This is not the first time that we are making an offer to increase our investment in Great Eastern – first in 2004, followed by 2006. As OCBC has been the majority shareholder of Great Eastern for the past 20 years, the Group has entrenched institutional knowledge and expertise to manage the insurance business. We are confident this exercise complements our One Group, One Brand strategy. This will further accelerate our ambitious wealth management plans and build even tighter bonds and synergies across all our business pillars and key markets.”

Jakarta, Indonesia – OCBC has announced the completion of its acquisition of PT Bank Commonwealth (PTBC), making PTBC a subsidiary of OCBC Indonesia and bringing more than 1.2 million PTBC customers to OCBC Indonesia.

PTBC will continue to operate independently until the integration process is completed. This is targeted to be in the fourth quarter of 2024. During this period, PTBC will serve its customers as usual with its banking products and services, including banking transactions at PTBC’s branches and through digital channels.

This acquisition underscores Indonesia’s continued importance to OCBC Group. It is one of the Group’s core markets together with Singapore, Malaysia and Greater China, and presents many opportunities as ASEAN’s largest economy and the world’s fourth most populous country. 

It is worth noting that with China being Indonesia’s largest trading partner and Indonesia’s second largest investor, combining PTBC’s capabilities with OCBC Indonesia’s enables OCBC Group to better capture the opportunities from the increasing ASEAN-Greater China wealth, trade and investment flows, in line with the group’s corporate strategy.

Helen Wong, group CEO of OCBC, said, “With the acquisition process now complete, our immediate priority is to ensure the successful operational integration of PT Bank Commonwealth Indonesia into OCBC Indonesia. We are working closely with its management team and are committed to a smooth transition for the customers and employees. Customers of both banks have a lot to look forward to as we leverage our complementary strengths to expand our product and services offerings in Indonesia.”

She added, “This acquisition builds on our already strong presence in Indonesia. It signals our commitment to accelerating growth in the country, and to support our customers as they seek growth across multiple markets. Rising ASEAN-Greater China flows is a focal point of Asia’s growth story and a big opportunity for us. Chinese companies for instance, are looking to expand into Indonesia to tap its large young population and abundance of natural resources. Continuously strengthening our network across ASEAN and Greater China, and presence in other global financial centres, is therefore imperative to our strategy.”

The acquisition is the latest strategic milestone for OCBC in Indonesia. It became the first Singapore bank to acquire a banking stake in Indonesia with the acquisition of a 22.5% stake in PT Bank NISP Tbk in 2004 – a stake that has increased over the years to the current 85%.

Singapore – Multinational banking and financial services corporation OCBC has announced key leadership changes amidst the group’s ASEAN-Greater China strategic thrust gathering momentum this year.

Wang Ke, currently CEO of OCBC Wing Hang China, will assume the role of head of Greater China, succeeding Tan Wing Ming. With Wang’s appointment, Ang Eng Siong, currently deputy president and head of corporate banking at OCBC Wing Hang China, will step up as the acting CEO of OCBC Wing Hang China.

Wang joined the OCBC Group in 2012 as the Head of IT in China and expanded his responsibilities to include operations in 2014. He was appointed the head of Pearl River Delta region in 2017, then assumed the position of CEO of OCBC Wing Hang China in 2019. Under his leadership, critical technology infrastructure and capabilities were built up, and the business deftly steered through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Ang has been with OCBC since 2009. He spent 6 years in Singapore in various roles across risk management, finance and business development. As part of OCBC’s talent development programme, Ang moved from Singapore to China in 2015. He was appointed China’s chief risk officer in 2018 and head of corporate banking in 2022.

Helen Wong, group CEO of OCBC, said, “I am pleased that our deep internal talent pool has provided the best candidates for these senior Greater China appointments. It affirms our commitment to nurturing homegrown talent and providing avenues for career progression and mobility. Wang Ke and Eng Siong are valuable contributors to the OCBC franchise. I am confident that, in their expanded roles, they will further advance OCBC’s strategic priorities in Greater China.”