Singaporean lender UOB has appointed Tan Choon Hin as its head of Asean and Greater China, effective September 1, a new role, in which he will drive the bank’s regional business, including its fully-owned subsidiaries in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and mainland China, as well as its branches in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Tan will work closely with the country CEOs and management teams, the bank notes, across these seven markets to strengthen connectivity and collaboration across its regional businesses, accelerate cross-border and revenue opportunities, and deliver long-term growth for the bank.
He will also oversee the bank’s foreign direct investment ( FDI ) advisory unit, a dedicated team that helps companies seize cross-border growth opportunities by connecting them to ecosystem partners and industry networks across the Asean ( Association of Southeast Asian Nations ) region and Greater China.
Tan, the bank’s current deputy chief risk officer, will report to Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and chief executive officer of UOB, and will be a member of its management executive committee.
He has more than 30 years of banking, credit and risk management experience across both Asean and Greater China. He joined UOB in 2012 as head of group credit ( retail ) and, thereafter, as head of group business banking. In 2016, he was appointed chief executive officer of UOB Thailand. Under his leadership, UOB Thailand grew to become the second-largest foreign bank and one of the top three card issuers. He also supported the facilitation of FDI into Thailand and support regional clients to enter new markets.
In 2024, he returned to Singapore as deputy chief risk officer, where he was responsible for enhancing the bank’s risk management approach to strengthen governance and grow the risk culture across the organization.
“Asean is at the heart of UOB’s growth strategy and is becoming an increasingly important global economic hub,” Wee adds. “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’s regional leadership experience and deep understanding of our franchise position him well to accelerate growth across our regional franchise as we advance our ambition to be the leading bank in Asean.”
