Singapore headquartered United Overseas Bank (UOB) has appointed its deputy chief risk officer Mr Tan Choon Hin as head of ASEAN and Greater China in a newly created role.

Effective 1^st September, Tan will be tasked with driving the bank’s business across Greater China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam as cross-border flows increase between the regions.

Tan will report to Mr Wee Ee Cheong, UOB deputy chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and will be a member of the bank’s management executive committee.

Wee Ee Cheong said: “ASEAN is at the heart of UOB’s growth strategy and is becoming an increasingly important global economic hub.”

“As trade, investment and wealth flows between ASEAN and Greater China deepen, new opportunities are emerging across the region.”

“This new role reinforces our commitment to capturing these opportunities for customers and supporting them in their cross-border growth.”

Tan will also oversee the bank’s foreign direct investment (FDI) advisory unit, which helps companies seize cross-border growth ​opportunities by ​connecting them ⁠to ecosystem partners and industry networks across ASEAN and Greater ​China.

The bank said this unit has supported over 300 cross-border expansion plans with S$5.6bn ($4.4bn) in projected investments.

Wee Ee Cheong said: “Choon Hin’s regional leadership experience and deep understanding of our franchise position him well to accelerate growth across our regional franchise as we advance UOB’s ambition to be the leading bank in ASEAN.”

Tan joined UOB in 2012, eventually becoming CEO of UOB Thailand and growing it into the country’s second-largest foreign bank before returning to Singapore in 2024 to take up his current role.