HSBC Life Singapore expands leadership team
Last year, HSBC Life Singapore made sweeping upgrades to its business, including the launch of its new brand, the expansion of its product suite, and widening its distribution channels to include independent Financial Advisory firms. HSBC Life Singapore has since expanded its manufacturing capabilities to offer a holistic range of products and solutions, including market-first innovations aimed at closing the protection gaps that Singaporeans are facing.
More recently, HSBC has announced the launch of a global business, Wealth and Personal Banking (WPB) that combines the retail and private banking units to become one of the world’s largest global wealth managers with USD1.4 trillion in wealth balances, of which nearly half is from Asia.
WPB covers the full spectrum of private wealth, from retail clients to ultra-high net worth individuals, bringing together HSBC’s best-in-class capabilities across retail banking, wealth, asset management, insurance and private banking to provide a seamless experience as individuals and families grow, manage and protect their wealth. HSBC Life Singapore will play an important role in driving HSBC’s wealth ambition to become the Number 1 wealth management provider in Asia.
Mr. Carlos Vazquez, CEO, HSBC Life Singapore, shared: “As part of the WPB business, there are immense opportunities for us to deepen our market share and grow the business in Singapore and regionally. Our close collaboration with the retail and private banking units as well as HSBC’s asset management arm will allow us to develop more innovative solutions that will address the protection and retirement planning needs of our customers from across the wealth continuum.”
“Philip and Chee Koon both being seasoned experts in their respective areas will be well placed to help us continue driving our growth initiatives by improving on customer’s investment returns and experience.”
More details of the new appointments are as follows:
Mr. Philip Pang, Chief Investment Officer
Mr. Pang is responsible for developing, executing and overseeing the investment strategy of HSBC Life Singapore. In particular, Mr. Pang will work closely with various internal and HSBC Group stakeholders to develop, amongst others, new asset classes and derivatives solutions to deliver sustainable long term return for policyholders and shareholders.
Mr. Pang has over 15 years of experience in the insurance and investment sectors. He spent the last 8 years at Prudential Singapore and NTUC Income Singapore, both as Head of Investment, overseeing asset allocation, external fund manager selection and monitoring, portfolio implementation and oversight, investment processes and governance, and the product management of ILP funds.
Mr. Pang is no stranger to HSBC and has previously worked at HSBC Global Asset Management in Hong Kong and Singapore, where he was responsible for providing investment solutions to the insurance business and other institutional clients.
Mr. Pang was appointed on 1 June 2020 and holds a degree in Actuarial Studies from Macquarie University, Australia. He is also a qualified actuary with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, UK.
Mr. How Chee Koon, Chief Product Officer
As Chief Product Officer, Mr. How is responsible for the strategic implementation and execution of new product developments and the management of HSBC Life Singapore’s product suite. In addition, Mr. How has oversight on the delivery and marketing of customer-centric propositions and solutions that meet customers’ protection, education, retirement, legacy and saving needs.
Mr. How Chee Koon has close to 15 years of life insurance experience across key areas, including product development, actuarial pricing & valuation, data analytics, distribution and marketing. Mr. How was most recently Head of Consumer Marketing at AIA Singapore, where he successfully rolled out several customer- and distributor-centric initiatives to grow the business.
Mr. How was appointed on 21 July 2020 and holds a degree in Actuarial Science from Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.
Media enquiries:
Betty Fong | +65 6658 4103 | betty.c.y.fong@hsbc.com.sg
About HSBC Life Singapore
HSBC Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Limited, which is ultimately owned by HSBC Holdings plc, the London-based holding company of the HSBC Group. HSBC Insurance (Singapore) has been a Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Tier-1 insurer, managing total assets of close to SGD 7 billion with a 199% Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as at 31 December 2019 and received an A+ rating by Standard & Poor’s in 2019. It provides a wide range of solutions that cater to retirement, protection, education, legacy planning, and wealth accumulation needs. It also has a fully digital platform, HSBC Insurance Online, that offers simple and value for money term-based life insurance products online.
About HSBC Singapore
HSBC Group’s history in Singapore dates back to 1877 when its founding member, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, opened its first branch on the island. A qualifying full bank, HSBC in Singapore offers a comprehensive range of banking and financial services including retail banking and wealth management; commercial, investment and private banking; insurance; forfaiting and trustee services; securities and capital markets services. One of the earliest banks to establish in Singapore, HSBC today is a prominent player in Singapore's financial services sector serving the banking needs of multi-national corporations, home-grown businesses, private banking clients, institutional and retail customers. In May 2016, HSBC locally incorporated its retail banking and wealth management business in Singapore and established, HSBC Bank (Singapore) Limited. HSBC Singapore has a retail network of 13 branches (comprising 10 dedicated HSBC Premier Centres, 2 HSBC Jade Centres and a Premier International Centre) and many locations across the island providing self-service terminals.
About The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is the founding member of the HSBC Group. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 64 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$2,923bn at 30 June 2020, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.