(From left) Euromoney Institutional Investor Asia Bureau chief Matthew Thomas, UOB (China) Alternate Country CEO and East Regional head Vincent Yeong, UOB Group Commercial Banking head Rosalind Lee, Cheong, Foo, and AsiaMoney editor-in-chief Clive Horwood pose for a group photo as UOB’s representatives receives the ‘Best Regional Bank of the Year’ award.
SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE: United Overseas Bank (UOB) has been named ‘Best Regional Bank of the Year’ for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Southeast Asia at the 2018 Asiamoney New Silk Road Finance Awards.
The award was recently presented to UOB in recognition of its contribution to facilitating regional trade and investment flows by connecting companies to business opportunities arising from the BRI.
UOB head of Group Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Advisory Unit Sam Cheong, said in a statement: “With our Asian heritage and Southeast Asian roots, we understand the opportunities and challenges in the region and recognise that companies need seamless connectivity to internationalise their business.
“Besides strengthening our FDI ecosystem of partners, we also continue to enhance our cross-border capabilities. Earlier this year, we set up China Desks in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to help companies understand how best to navigate the diverse economic and business environments across these markets.”
Since its launch seven years ago, the UOB FDI Advisory Unit has supported more than 500 Chinese companies in their regional expansion and facilitated more than S$60 billion (approximately 300 billion renminbi) in business flows.
Through its network in Asia, UOB has supported its clients in managing and expanding their businesses across the region. In addition to financial solutions, the bank offers business advisory services through its dedicated FDI Advisory Unit and its ecosystem of strategic partners including government agencies, trade and industry associations and professional service providers across the region. One such partner is the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, with which UOB recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to help more companies tap the BRI for business, trade and investment.
UOB (China) president and chief executive officer (CEO) Peter Foo, added: “We remain steadfast in support of our clients as they seize cross-border business opportunities arising from the BRI and China’s liberalisation of its financial sector. We will continue to deepen our presence here, to sharpen our industry expertise and to broaden our range of onshore and offshore financial solutions to help more companies benefit from the growing trade and investment between China and Southeast Asia.”