Hong Kong: HSBC will hire more ​than 100 artificial intelligence ​specialists and 100 wealth managers in Singapore, ​deepening investment in two areas central to the bank's Asian growth strategy as it expands higher-fee businesses and accelerates ‌AI adoption.The ⁠announcement ⁠come as HSBC moves to launch a new AI centre ​in Singapore in the second half of 2026, the ​bank said in a statement on Monday.Read more: HSBC to sell Singapore insurance unit to Allianz in $2.1 billion dealThe banking group's Chief Executive Georges Elhedery said in May that ​AI would destroy and ⁠create certain ‌jobs in the financial industry, and ​that the ​bank was retraining its workforce to ⁠meet the challenge.HSBC said it would recruit talent across natural language processing, data science, AI governance and human-centred design. The centre will initially focus on personalising customer wealth management conversations, introducing agentic treasury solutions, and expanding AI-enabled digital payments.Read more: India's private sector growth slumped to over four-year low in July, PMI showsRival Standard Chartered announced in May that ‌its AI transformation would eliminate about 8,000 jobs internally.HSBC is also looking to ​boost its ​local wealth ⁠management operation by adding another 100 relationship managers, a company spokesperson said.The bank last week agreed to sell its ​life and health insurance business in Singapore to Allianz for S$2.7 billion ($2.1 billion), as it trims non-core operations and focuses on its Asian wealth and wholesale banking businesses.