A pedestrian passes a Standard Chartered Bank branch in the Central business district of Hong Kong. (Photo: Agencies)

Standard Chartered announced on Monday that it is setting up a Standard Chartered Greater Bay Area Center in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, with a total investment of $40 million.

The center is expected to be put into operation this quarter and the number of its employees will exceed 1,600 by the end of 2023.

This is part of the bank's strategic plan for development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which will support the operations of retail and corporate banking in the region, promote the development and application of innovative financial solutions, and strengthen the cross-boundary banking services of Standard Chartered in the region.

"The Greater Bay Area is a vibrant and internationally competitive first-class bay area and world-class city cluster that is experiencing a significant increase in demand for banking services. It is a core area of focus for Standard Chartered, and we're using our talent, technology and deep client knowledge to develop innovative new products and services to support the GBA initiative," said Bill Winters, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered PLC.

"Our investment in this project demonstrates our confidence in the continued growth and prosperity of the region and our long-term commitment to serving our customers," said Benjamin Hung, GCNA regional CEO and group CEO of retail banking and wealth management at Standard Chartered.

In May, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, and several other financial regulators jointly released the opinions on providing financial support for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"The opinions and the framework of the cross-boundary wealth management connect pilot scheme announced earlier will enhance the cross-boundary connectivity in the region and push forward the opening-up and innovation of the financial industry. They also will deepen financial cooperation among the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao and enhance our confidence in the financial and economic outlook of the Greater Bay Area," Hung said.