As technology innovations and strategic initiatives go, the work done last year by BOCI-Prudential Trustee Limited (BOCPT) clearly stood out, earning it two well-deserved awards in Hong Kong.
Via a joint venture by BOC Group and Prudential Corporation, and being a key subsidiary of the custody business of Bank of China (Hong Kong) (BOCHK), BOCPT aims as part of a five-year strategic plan to diversify its revenue opportunities by strategically expanding its client segment from conventional pension fund businesses to Securities and Futures Commission-authorised mutual fund and asset owner sectors.
Technology is at the crux of this strategy to develop an agile and highly integrated global and local asset servicing and custody platform.
This has meant BOCPT transforming its current business into a comprehensive suite of custody, trustee and fund administration services. As a result, it is better positioned to support a variety mutual funds, REITS, ETFs, virtual assets, money market funds and pension funds in the asset management, insurance and sovereign wealth sectors.
Last year was a milestone as part of this journey. It marked the implementation of Project Kirin – the development of a custom-built platform to leverage the latest technologies and optimise digital workflows to effectively meet business objectives. Yet it goes beyond a new system – BOCPT sees it as an opportunity to reshape its future operating model by focusing on organisation, processes and system architecture.
For example, it has resulted in realigning shared services across various departments to streamline workflows and improve efficiency. Further, a new centralised team was established in mid-2024 to focus on standardising trade and cash processes – already achieving a 30% increase in efficiency, in turn paving the way for offshoring opportunities and better process control.
Judges were impressed, referencing BOCPT’s clear vision and commitment to gain a competitive edge in this space – and with a meaningful impact that can be quantified. In short, this transformation delivers key benefits for both the business and clients, including: a single online digital platform for holistic client experience; a single routing capability to both custody and fund administration platforms; and shared services for trade processing, corporate action and cash management to promote economies of scale, high efficiency, standardised processes and better operation control.
From an innovation perspective, by strategically combining technologies, BOCPT can adapt rapidly to evolving business needs, onboard large institutional clients seamlessly and provide a next-generation platform that far exceeds the capabilities of traditional, rigid architectures.
Among key outcomes in 2024, Project Kirin achieved the successful roll-out of an investment restriction module for 227 portfolios. Also, the investment restriction system run-time improved by 200%, and more than 75% of the investment restriction checking can be completed within the same business day.
Implementation of the new platform through Project Kirin positioned BOCPT to successfully win two major deals in the sovereign wealth sector, reinforcing the case for this operating model in addressing clients’ complex demands.
And based on its experience last year, BOCPT now estimates this project will contribute to a compound growth rate for the business in the range of 16% to 22%, along with a target of 16% reduction in the cost-income ratio over the next five years.
“We have embarked on a multi-year strategic initiative to develop a next-generation asset servicing platform through an innovative component-design– pioneering one of its kind in Asia. The award reflects our commitment to enhancing asset servicing to global standards and expanding our international reach.”
Andrew Law, CEO
Contact
W: https://assetservicing.bocpt.com
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