HSBC Bank has announced the official opening of its new UAE headquarters built at an investment of $250 million in Downtown Dubai. The HSBC Tower, which boasts 236,000 sq ft of workspace, is one of the world’s most sustainable buildings.

It was inaugurated by Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the chairman of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation in the presence of HSBC Group CEO John Flint and other senior government representatives and bank officials, said the statement from HSBC.

HSBC Tower embodies an entirely new way of working for staff in a building that leverages artificial intelligence, machine learning, biometrics, and blockchain innovation.

One of the most technologically-advanced in the HSBC Group, the new headquaters accommodates innovation labs, a university, training studios and collaboration hubs and has secured the coveted Gold Standard for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) from the Green Building Council, it stated.

HSBC’s new building is designed with sustainability and wellness in mind.

Leed-certified buildings use 25 per cent less energy and 40 per cent less water than a standard building, which contributes towards increased environmental performance. This reflects HSBC’s global sustainability strategy and priorities.

The new building includes a gym, studio space for yoga classes, a reflection room, an outdoor terrace and a number of vibrant coffee shops and restaurants

Since opening its first branch in Dubai in 1946 - the very first bank in what subsequently became the UAE - HSBC has played a significant role in the country’s economic and social development, said its top official.

Investing in the purpose-built HSBC Tower is a reflection of the bank’s commitment to that heritage - by setting new standards for its people, changing the way they work, and sharpening their focus on customers - and its ambitions to further build on it," stated Flint.

"In our global strategy announced in June 2018 we identified the UAE as one of our eight scale markets including Hong Kong and the UK," said Flint while speaking at the inauguration ceremony.

The enabling power of technology is something HSBC UAE CEO and group general manager Abdulfattah Sharaf sees at work every day at the new headquarters, which fosters the atmosphere of innovation that the bank needs to be front and centre of everything its 3,000-strong workforce does to deliver for its clients.

"Whether that’s reinventing customer experience, creating a more agile working environment, promoting smart, efficient and sustainable ways of doing business, and innovating to deliver products and services that meet constantly evolving market needs, this building helps make it all possible," remarked Sharaf, who is also the head of International for HSBC in Mena and Turkey.

HSBC’s strategy is based around the UAE’s role as a leader in the Middle East’s ambitious economic diversification and transformation agenda, and the track record the country has in delivering growth in numerous sectors of the economy, including trade and infrastructure, to tourism and retail.

With technology enabling proactive banks to do things differently, digitization is a key pillar of HSBC’s drive for business growth from both corporate and retail customers.

Flint said: "Markets like the UAE represent HSBC’s future, where we want to invest and grow, bringing more of HSBC to more people because we see opportunity here, not just for us, but for our customers all over the world. We firmly believe the economic miracle that we’ve seen here is just the start of something much, much bigger," he added.

Globally, HSBC has unveiled plans to invest $15 to 17 billion between now and 2020 in a new push for growth, with technology one of its primary focuses.

This comes on top of $6 billion invested in recent years to improve efficiency, accelerate transaction times and give customers more flexibility, said the top official.

At the inauguration ceremony, HSBC also unveiled the digitised Customer Service Unit, located on the ground floor of the new building, with state-of-the-art interactive touchscreens, tablets, smart watches, video conferencing and instant account opening capability..-TradeArabia News Service