UBS marks completion of new building in West Kowloon that will house the Swiss bank’s Hong Kong staff

The 14-storey building in West Kowloon will bring the bank’s staff – currently spread around the city – under one roof and will be used for client meetings

Its ‘excellent location … underscores our confidence in Hong Kong as an international financial centre,’ says chief executive of UBS Hong Kong

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The 14-storey office tower in West Kowloon will bring the bank’s Hong Kong staff under one roof. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Published: 4:51pm, 27 Mar 2024Updated: 7:22pm, 27 Mar 2024

UBS and Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) have held a ceremony marking the completion of a new building that will eventually house all the Swiss bank’s staff in Hong Kong.

The 14-storey office tower in West Kowloon will bring the bank’s staff, who are currently spread around the city, under one roof and will also be used to host VIP client meetings. UBS expects to move into the new building by 2026.

It marks an “exciting new chapter” as the company aims to concentrate all its business units in one central operation, said Sergio Ermotti, the group CEO of UBS, at the topping out ceremony on Wednesday. Topping out refers to the placement of the final structural beam at the end of construction.

“Hong Kong is a strategic market for UBS in Asia,” said Ermotti. “For six decades we have demonstrated our commitment to the growth of the city and to our clients.”

Currently the firm has five offices spread across the city, including 10 floors covering 300,000 square feet in Hong Kong’s tallest skyscraper, the 108-storey International Commerce Center (ICC) in Kowloon. That space was previously occupied by Credit Suisse, before the two banks merged.

Sergio Ermotti (left), group CEO of UBS, and Raymond Kwok, SHKP chairman and managing director, attended the topping out ceremony of the Swiss bank’s new office building in West Kowloon. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

UBS will be the first anchor tenant of the mega project under development on top of the West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus, occupying all 14 floors of tower T2B, which is the closest building to the waterfront. The tower, part of a four-tower complex being developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties, will be decked out with a rooftop garden and a private lift for clients.

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