Latest news with #StandardCharteredHongKong
South China Morning Post
09-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Standard Chartered hosts SME seminar to explore new opportunities in supply chain diversification and digitalisation
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Advertisement Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited ('Standard Chartered Hong Kong') today hosted a seminar for small and medium-sized enterprises ('SMEs') on 'Embracing Global Dynamics through Supply Chain Diversification and Digitalisation'. The event brought together over 200 SMEs from Hong Kong and Mainland China to explore opportunities arising from the transformation of cross-border business and digitalisation. The opening ceremony of the seminar was officiated by Mary Huen, CEO, Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia, Standard Chartered; Arthur Yuen, Deputy Chief Executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA); Stephen Man, Head of Wealth Management and Retail Banking, Standard Chartered Hong Kong; and Winne Tung, Head of SME Banking, Standard Chartered Hong Kong. Mary Huen, CEO, Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia, Standard Chartered, said, "Amidst uncertainties in the global trade market, Standard Chartered, as a partner of SMEs, remains committed to streamlining the loan application process for import and export trading firms by leveraging commercial data from e-commerce platforms. This supports SMEs' digital and cross-border transformation, addressing their need to expand into emerging markets in the Global South, including mainland China and ASEAN. We will continue to collaborate with the HKMA and other industries to support the development of SMEs, enabling them to diversify manufacturing bases and supply chains while seizing new opportunities through upgrades and transformation." This is the second year in a row that Standard Chartered Hong Kong has held the SME seminar. This time, the Bank invited experts from the fields of economics, investment, taxation, law, and digital innovation to share the latest market trends and business insights. As corporates increasingly look for overseas expansion and supply chain diversification, the seminar sought to help SMEs better understand and seize the emerging opportunities. Advertisement Standard Chartered Hong Kong is also an active participant in industry initiatives, such as the HKMA's Commercial Data Interchange ('CDI') project, and the proof-of-concept Commercial Credit Reference Agency 2.0 that further simplifies the financing process and promotes the development of digital economy. In 2024, the number of SME loan applications processed automatically through CDI, using directly obtained corporate credit records, increased by 30% year-on-year.
South China Morning Post
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Physical 100 star, Hong Kong actor-singers among cast of The Season, drama set in the city
South Korean-Canadian actor Lee Jae-yoon, one of the stars of the Netflix reality series Physical: 100, has been doing the rounds of Hong Kong arts events. He even took part in the 2025 Standard Chartered Hong Kong marathon. Advertisement Now the city is about to see a lot more of him. Best known for his roles in the 2023 film Spring in Seoul and television dramas My Love By My Side (2011), Heartless City (2013) and Mother (2018), Lee is set to star in The Season, a six-part drama series set in Hong Kong. A casting call for the show posted on social media earlier this year describes the series as a White Lotus -type drama 'with wealthy, complicated, and ultimately human characters'. It follows a group of posh buddies who get together for some summer fun until deception and power struggles take them down life-altering paths.
South China Morning Post
23-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Standard Chartered plans Hong Kong wealth centres to appeal to US$200 bln of ‘new money'
Standard Chartered will open one wealth management centre a year over the next five years in Hong Kong as part of its global strategy to grow its wealth business and also tap small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Greater Bay Area, according to a senior executive. Advertisement 'We are focused on opening more wealth management centres to serve the affluent population in the area and improve the service quality to sustain the strong business performance,' Stephen Man Wai-shing, head of wealth and retail banking at Standard Chartered Hong Kong, said at the launch of the bank's fifth such centre last week in the tourist hotspot of Tsim Sha Tsui. The centre provides banking services for affluent local, cross-border and international clients. The next outlet would be in Central, complementing the existing one at Exchange Square, with a soft launch towards the end of this year, Man said. Future facilities in locations such as Causeway Bay were also being considered, he added. The robust growth in services for affluent clients drove Standard Chartered's profit up 21 per cent in 2024, prompting group CEO Bill Winters to set an ambitious goal of attracting US$200 billion of wealth-management business worldwide from newly affluent people in the next five years. 10:39 Exclusive: Standard Chartered's Bill Winters shares his plans to expand in Hong Kong Exclusive: Standard Chartered's Bill Winters shares his plans to expand in Hong Kong Another growth area for the bank in Hong Kong is mainland SMEs with a focus on imports. Standard Chartered recently started working with Cainiao, a Chinese e-commerce logistics provider and Alibaba Group Holding affiliate, to streamline lending processes for SMEs based on transaction data. Alibaba owns the Post. Advertisement Data from Cainiao would help the bank 'quicken and enlarge credit approvals' as part of its efforts to support SME development and transformation, Man said.
South China Morning Post
10-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Standard Chartered and LIFTWOMEN® Jointly Launch 'SC WIN Now & Next Challenge'
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Advertisement Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited ("Standard Chartered Hong Kong") and LIFTWOMEN® announced the launch of 'SC WIN Now & Next Challenge', a new initiative under Standard Chartered's Women's International Network ("SC WIN"). The programme will leverage SC WIN's global network and resources, alongside LiftWomen®'s extensive experience and expertise in supporting women entrepreneurs, to offer 10 selected entrepreneurs an 8-week "LiftHER Global Accelerator Programme". Five winners will be awarded a total of HKD 1 million in grants and professional training to support their business growth. The launch event of the "SC WIN Now & Next Challenge" brought together prominent women entrepreneurs from the startup and business communities, celebrating the inaugural launch of the programme and learning about Standard Chartered's enhanced support for SMEs which is to strengthen their financial capabilities and develop business skills for expansion. According to the research by "Women of Hong Kong", SC WIN's Hong Kong partner, women entrepreneurs generally face limited access to funding channels. SC WIN was established to provide comprehensive support to women entrepreneurs through three key pillars: delivering products tailored to various business development stages, creating platforms to connect markets, client communities, suppliers and entrepreneurs across different regions, and assisting SMEs in formulating development and expansion strategies. (From left) Winnie Tung, Head of SME Banking at Standard Chartered Hong Kong; Xie Wen, Global Head of SME Banking at Standard Chartered; Mary Huen, CEO, Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia at Standard Chartered; and Irene Tsang, Founder and CEO of LIFTWOMEN® participated in the launch ceremony of 'SC WIN Now & Next Challenge'. As a new initiative under SC WIN, the 'SC WIN Now & Next Challenge' targets women entrepreneurs who have successfully established their business models and are now poised for growth and market expansion. The programme is expected to attract over a hundred local women entrepreneurs to apply. Ten outstanding participants will be selected to join the 8-week LiftHER Global Accelerator Programme, where they will gain in-depth understanding of business operations and industry trends to refine their business strategies. The finalists will compete in a pitching challenge in late August for five awards. Advertisement Mary Huen, CEO, Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia, Standard Chartered, said, "Standard Chartered Hong Kong is committed to supporting SMEs development. By collaborating with chambers and industry associations, we would help SMEs transform through digitalisation, cross-border expansion, and sustainability initiatives. To support women entrepreneurs to take their business to the next level, we launched SC WIN in Hong Kong in October 2023, offering a suite of lending solutions and networking events that enable them to connect for better business opportunities. The new addition of 'SC WIN Now & Next Challenge' will bring more benefits to the SMEs by providing them with better exposure and tools to strengthen their brand competitiveness and business skills to capture the upcoming growth opportunities which will inject new impetus into Hong Kong's economic development."
