OCBC Partners With UK for Multi-Billion Dollar Commitment
Leveraging its expertise in sustainable and green finance, Singapore-based bank OCBC plans to invest several billion pounds in the UK by 2030.
OCBC aims to fund S$17 billion ($13 billion) over six years to support foreign direct investments into the UK, according to a media release on Thursday. The financing is expected to spur growth in the country’s priority industries, including energy, transportation, infrastructure, data centers and real estate.
This commitment is sealed today between OCBC and the Office for Investment of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (OFI). This is the first such strategic partnership agreement between OFI and a Singapore bank, and the largest inward investment that the OFI has established with an Asian bank.
Knowledge-Sharing Initiatives
OCBC will also support UK businesses expanding into or establishing operations in Singapore and Southeast Asia. This builds on the UK’s entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) free trade agreement last year. UK companies will enjoy greater access to the Asia-Pacific-focused CPTPP markets, and there will potentially be more trade flows into Southeast Asia from the UK.
To achieve these goals, OCBC and the OfI will work together on initiatives to foster knowledge-sharing and facilitate relationships between OCBC and relevant UK businesses, institutions, or agencies.
First Bank in the UK
OCBC is the first Singapore bank to establish a presence in the UK. Its London branch, established 56 years ago in 1969, has grown significantly in the last five years. Having registered about 20 percent annual revenue growth on average in the last five years, it is now the biggest branch in OCBC’s international network.
The London branch’s growth has been driven mainly by real estate, renewables, energy transition, digital infrastructure and core physical infrastructure activities.
