HSBC celebrates 60 years of nurturing future leaders
The largest bank in Hong Kong has been supporting local talent for decades, ensuring the city thrives as an international hub
HSBC is committed to preparing a future-ready talent pool in Hong Kong and has for decades been providing students in the city with scholarships to help them achieve their full potential.
This year, the bank is celebrating two big milestones – HSBC’s 160th anniversary and the 60th anniversary of the HSBC scholarship scheme.
Through its philanthropic arm The Hongkong Bank Foundation, HSBC has helped more than 7,500 students pursue their dreams – in everything from finance to public service and the performing arts – through its scholarship offerings, namely the HSBC Global Scholarship, Innovation and Technology Scholarship, HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship, HSBC Social Work Scholarship and the HSBC Vocational Education Scholarship.
“Hong Kong is a home market for HSBC, and we want to ensure there is a future-ready talent pool for the city,” says Peter Wong, chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and The Hongkong Bank Foundation. “We are proud to support local talent and create opportunities to help them succeed. It is how we will keep Hong Kong thriving as a welcoming, international city.”
When launched in 1965, the first scholarships were for undergraduates studying social work, a relatively new field at the time and one where there was a clear need for more trained professionals. Subsequently, the number of awards steadily expanded to include more university-level programmes and vocational training courses to reflect the city’s development.
Each scholarship provides financial support to awardees but is also an invitation to be part of a bigger community that is passionate about giving back to the city they call home – Hong Kong. A clear commitment to that ethos is among the selection criteria, along with an ambition to accept challenges and grow. Past recipients are enrolled into Hub for the Future, an alumni body that has a membership of more than 3,300.
“Seeing our amazingly diverse alumni make lasting contributions to the well-being of the wider community over time is the real payback,” Wong says.
A special HSBC Scholars’ Day reception was held on July 16 at the HSBC Main Building in Central. This event brought together some distinguished alumni from the six decades of the programme, all with a rich mix of life experiences and all keen to share their stories of how an HSBC Scholarship transformed their lives.
For Rosanna Wong, who was awarded the HSBC Social Work Scholarship in the 1970s and later served as a member of both the Legislative Council and the Executive Council, the calling to empower young people and give back to the community made a lasting impact.
“The scholarship instilled in me a deep sense of purpose, which has shaped my long professional life, working with young people and being committed to education,” she says. “My advice to today’s young scholars is to be open to learning, seek opportunities to give back, and remember it is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Peter Chan, the founder of social enterprise TreeholeHK, was awarded the HSBC Global Scholarship (formerly known as the HSBC Overseas Scholarship) in 2015. It allowed him to study experimental psychology at the University of Oxford, and the eye-opening experience planted the seeds for creating TreeholeHK, which aims to promote psychology and help those in need build resilience.
“The HSBC scholarship has played a pivotal role in shaping who I am today. I am proud to be an HSBC Scholar because it is also about being part of a community that represents the Hong Kong spirit,” he says.
Geanna Trisha Lopez Tobar feels similarly fortunate, having received scholarships in both 2021 and 2024, which helped to support her degree and postgraduate courses in law. She now feels empowered to work towards building a professional career in the legal field and, in doing so, working for the community.
“The HSBC scholarships serve as a recognition and encouragement to students like me, being a member of an ethnic minority,” she says. “In the future, I want to use the skills gained from my studies to advocate on behalf of those who are marginalised in the community, particularly in advising them on their rights and providing ease of access to justice.”
Globalisation and economic growth have only served to highlight the importance of education in past decades. “Hong Kong has one of the highest GDP per capita figures in Asia. This success is built on very few natural resources, and our people are our most important resource,” HSBC’s Wong says.
He adds that the bank will continue to invest in people and is dedicated to building Hong Kong into a hub for the new economy.