The Chinese bank – Hengfeng Bank – provides services including wealth management. The partnership shows how mainland institutions work with local Singapore players to push business interests into Southeast Asia.

United Overseas Bank has partnered with one mainland Chinese bank and three companies, covering areas including wealth management, to support their Southeast Asia growth plans.

The Singapore-headquartered lender is working with organisations in the Shandong province of the country. 

In one example – a memorandum of understanding with Hengfeng Bank – the parties reaffirmed plans to collaborate across areas including wealth management, treasury, investment banking and trade financing. The MoU was renewed at the 25th Singapore-Shandong Business Council meeting, held in Marina Bay Sands.

In conjunction with the SSBC meeting, UOB also signed three new MoUs with Shandong-based businesses to support their internationalisation efforts in Southeast Asia.

Shandong is one of China’s fastest growing provinces, UOB said in a statement. In 2023, its GDP reached about RMB9.21 trillion ($1.3 trillion), making it the third-largest province in China, behind Guangdong and Jiangsu. Shandong was the first province in China to establish a bilateral business council with Singapore in 1993. In 2023, Singapore became the second-largest source of foreign direct investment flows for Shandong province, UOB said.

The MOU with Hengfeng Bank was signed by Eric Lian, head of group commercial banking, UOB, Peter Foo, president and CEO, UOB China, and Fang Yi, vice president, Hengfeng Bank Co Ltd. 

The companies can access UOB’s full suite of financial solutions such as cross-border settlement, trade financing and cash management for their business expansion. Hengfeng Bank’s clients will also be able to use UOB’s dedicated Foreign Direct Investment Advisory Unit and gain insights and support for their overseas expansion efforts.