HSBC Life Names Duo Chiefs in Singapore

HSBC Life Singapore appointed two senior executives to further expand manufacturing and distribution activities in the city-state. HSBC Life Singapore named Philip Pang and How Chee Koon as a chief investment officer and chief product officer, respectively, according to a Business Times report.

Pang is responsible for developing, executing, and overseeing the investment strategy of HSBC Life Singapore. He 15 years of experience in insurance and investments including eight years as the head of investments with Prudential Singapore and NTUC Income Singapore. Previously, he also worked with HSBC Global Asset Management in Hong Kong and Singapore.

How is responsible for strategic implementation and execution of new product developments and the management of HSBC Life Singapore’s product suite. He has nearly 15 years of life insurance experience across product development, actuarial pricing and valuation, data analytics, distribution and marketing, and was most recently head of consumer marketing at AIA Singapore.

According to HSBC, its life insurance unit in Singapore will play a key role in the broader bank’s ambitions to become a top wealth manager in Asia.

HSBC Life Singapore’s chief executive Carlos Vazquez also underlined greater internal collaboration with the asset management and the $1.4 trillion wealth management unit – newly formed earlier this year by merging retail and private banking.

HSBC rebranded its Singapore insurance business in May last year and has since signaled a growth drive by rolling out more products and expanding distribution to include partnerships with independent financial advisory firms.

The British financier is not alone in expanding its insurance business in Singapore. Most recently, China Life Singapore said it would also accelerate expansion by hiring over 500 consultants by 2023 to target wealthy individuals in the city-state.