The CEO of the upcoming OCBC shows that the Singapore Bank is still betting on the Chinese bond of growth

On Friday, OCBC announced that Tan TECK Long, its current president of wholesale banking services, will hold the position of CEO on January 1, 2026, to replace Helen Wong. Andrew Lee, President of OCBC, said in A. statement. He added: “There will be no disruption for the strategic direction of companies in OCBC to become an integrated financial power for financial services.”

OCBC, No. 13 on luck’S Southeast Asia 500He wants to take advantage of the financial flows between Southeast Asia and China, which is expected to grow as the second largest economy in the world looking for new commercial partners. While all the three major banks of Singapore – DBS, OCBC and UOB – were present in China, OCBC under the current CEO Wong may focus on linking their Chinese and Asian works.

Chinese companies are invested extensively in Southeast Asia, as a way to diversify their supply chains and find new markets for their goods and services. China and ASEAN are now the largest commercial partners for each other.

The CEO of OCBC comes with a wealth experience from China, including institutional institutional banking works in DBS for a period of five years in China. He is also currently the position of Director of the Board of Directors in two financial institutions belonging to OCBC on the main mainland of China, Ninjo Bank and the Maxwealth Funds Management Company.

OCBC shares increased by 0.7 % on Monday, the first trading day since the bank announced the appointment of Tan as CEO.

Who is Tan Tik long?

Tan joined OCBC in 2022, just one year after his former president took over the role of the CEO. He is currently leading his international banking banking work, which contributed to the largest share of OCBC’s income last year, by 42 %.

The ship jumped nearly three decades in DBS Bank, as he recently held the position of senior risk officials.

The revenues of the internationally senior banking services of OCBC grew by 35 % under the duration of Tan. OCBC also reported a 30 % increase on an annual basis for new customers who were Chinese companies hoped to enter the Asian market, according to its last annual report.

Helen Wong’s legacy

Helen Wong became the first woman to lead a major bank in Singapore when she was appointed as CEO in 2021. In the period of her mandate, OCBC has reported record profits for three consecutive years, with strong growth through banking services, wealth management and insurance companies.

Wong worked for the first time in OCBC as a manager in management in 1981. Then she moved to HSBC, and eventually rose to become the bank’s great executive in the United Kingdom in 2015. She returned to OCBC to be head of global banking services, a role that her successor is occupied now.

During her term, she also tried to get Great Eastern Holdings, the largest life insurance provider in Singapore, Private. OCBC currently has a 94 % stake in the company, but the remaining shareholders in Great Eastern unacceptable A special plan last week.

The President of OCBC told me in his statement that Wong “sharpened the competitive edge of OCBC as an integrated group of financial services by entering into the well -defined corporate strategy.”

OCBC shares have increased by more than 40 % since Wong was appointed as CEO, with a lot of improvement last year. However, the shares of OCBC DBS, whose shares increased by more than 70 % during the same period.

Wong cited family reasons for her retirement, but she will continue to work as the president of OCBC China and Director of the Board of Directors of OCBC Hong Kong.