We regularly seek our stakeholders’ views and expectations through conversations, collaboration and research. By our taking an inclusive approach, we hope they in turn will have a deeper understanding of our purpose, practices and performance. During the year, we also sought feedback from institutional investors and analysts, regulators and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in our review of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors most material to the Bank.
In 2018, UOB received Special Recognition for Stakeholder Engagement and Materiality category at the Singapore Sustainable Business Awards 2018 for our disclosure on material ESG topics in the UOB Annual Report 2017.
Summary of Our Stakeholder Groups and Their Expectations
Stakeholders and How
We Engage with Them
How We Continue to
Meet Their Expectations
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Face-to-face meetings
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Interactions at branches
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Post-transaction customer surveys
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Contact centre service
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Marketing and advertising campaigns
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Website and social media channels and campaigns
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Events and seminars, including workshops on sustainability
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News generated/covered in the media
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Fair products, services and treatment
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Reasonable fees
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Responsible financial advice
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Secure transactions
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Protection of data and privacy
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Convenient access to products and services
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Prompt service and resolution of complaints
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Information on developments of our business
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Relevant and timely information on products and services
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After-sales care
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Knowledgeable employees
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Maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards in all our dealings with our customers
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Focusing on both the personal and business financial needs of our customers when developing our products and services
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Ensuring that our people are equipped and committed to advise and to act in the best interests of our customers
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Providing relevant information and advice
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Providing our customers with clear and transparent information so that they can make informed financial decisions
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Ensuring access to our banking products and services through our
omni-channel and extensive network of customer touchpoints
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Addressing customer feedback independently, effectively and promptly
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Ensuring the robustness of our monitoring and risk management systems to maintain a secure banking environment
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Digitalised full application processes in Singapore for deposit, card and loan products
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Established partner ecosystems, such as in the areas of property and automotive in Singapore, as well as with Grab and Razer Inc, to offer more convenient financial solutions for consumers and businesses
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Partnered technology companies to deepen our engagement of our customers and for more effective credit assessment of potential customers
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Built the first mobile-only bank for ASEAN’s digital generation
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Set up an Engagement Lab to anticipate our customers’ needs
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Enhanced our UOB Mighty app through features such as Mighty FX
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Launched branch concepts in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to suit the needs of different customer segments
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Added 112 contactless automated teller machines to our Singapore network
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Extended UOB BizSmart, our
cloud-based integrated business solution, to small businesses in Malaysia and Thailand
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Helped small- and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore to develop and to deepen their digital capabilities by connecting them to our partner ecosystems and through The FinLab’s Smart Business Transformation programme
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Deepened our product capabilities and expanded our industry coverage across our key markets through our Sector Solutions approach to serve the needs of corporate clients better
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Signed collaboration agreements with government, trade and commercial organisations to help facilitate the expansion plans of our corporate clients
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Held client seminars to share our insights into market and industry developments as well as sustainability trends
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Achieved a 63 per cent rise in customer compliments and an 11 per cent decrease in complaints
in Singapore
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Frequent CEO communication to all colleagues on regular and topical subjects
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One-on-one sessions with managers
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Online and mobile employee portal with informative, collaborative and social features
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HR policies and procedures
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Periodic performance reviews
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Employee satisfaction survey
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Regular town hall meetings
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Open-door dialogue and transparent communications between management and employees
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Training and workshops
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Employee volunteerism programmes
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Inter-departmental games and recreational activities
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Trust and respect
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Career development
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Job satisfaction and recognition
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Fair employment practices
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Competitive wages and benefits
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Work-life harmony
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Workplace well-being
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Safe work environment
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Information relevant to their work
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Upholding a values-based
and risk-focused organisational culture
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Ensuring fair and equitable opportunities for all colleagues
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Ensuring fair HR policies and processes
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Encouraging feedback
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Ensuring transparent and objective performance appraisals, and performance-based rewards and recognition
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Providing opportunities for training and development to build skills for the digital economy
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Empowering our people to take ownership of their career paths
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Enabling our colleagues to be informed and engaged to contribute effectively
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Promoting teamwork and supporting one another to achieve shared goals
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Providing flexible work arrangements
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Offering health and wellness benefits
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Maintaining workplace health and safety
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Enabling colleagues to give back to the community through volunteer initiatives
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Invested $26 million in training for our colleagues across the Group
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Increased the average number of training hours per person to 46.1 hours
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Extended our Leadership Right By You programme to China, Hong Kong and Indonesia, with close to 1,200 colleagues across the Group participating in the programme
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Continued the Professional Conversion Programme and the UOB SUMMIT programme in Singapore to upgrade our colleagues’ skillsets and to prepare them for the future
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Incorporated employee feedback in enhancing training programmes and people management skills
Group-wide
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Added 360-degree feedback to the performance assessment process for all managing directors in the Group
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Upgraded our training facilities in Singapore and Indonesia to enhance our colleagues’ learning experience
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Designed and constructed offices in Singapore to promote mobility and collaboration among our colleagues
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Launched a fitness centre for our colleagues in Thailand
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Reimbursed $16.9 million worth of health and wellness benefits through our HEAL programme for our colleagues in Singapore
and China
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Recognised 15 teams for their achievements in productivity
and innovation, and celebrated the dedication of 870 long-serving colleagues
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Awarded 90 individuals and
35 teams for being role models of our customer commitments
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Participation in governments’ employment creation initiatives
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Support of national movements to build inclusive communities
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Hiring of persons with autism or deaf persons at the UOB Scan Hub
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Disclosure of responsible financing and investment initiatives
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Annual regional art competition
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Partnerships with art galleries, art patrons and social service organisations
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Art roadshows and outreach programmes
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Education programmes for children
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University scholarships
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Financial literacy initiatives
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Annual charity run/walk
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Fundraising events
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Donations in cash or in kind to support causes related to art, children and education
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Inclusive employment opportunities
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Contribution to local job creation and economic growth
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Good corporate citizenry
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Responsible financing and investment
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Creating and maintaining an inclusive workplace
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Offering jobs to local talent
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Encouraging strategic investments that drive economic growth and social development
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Integrating ESG considerations into our risk assessment and credit decision processes
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Giving back to the community through corporate social responsibility programmes focused on art, children and education
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Increased the number of UOB Scan Hub colleagues with special abilities to 33 per cent
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Employed local talent, who account for 95 per cent of colleagues in our key markets
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Provided financing to projects developing clean energy and infrastructure, and promoting energy efficiency
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Supported the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals further through responsible investments by UOB Asset Management and UOB Venture Management (UOBVM)
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Made monetary contributions of more than $5.1 million to communities in Asia
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Clocked more than 51,000 hours in employee volunteer work across the region
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Championed Southeast Asian art through our flagship UOB Painting of the Year Competition, the opening of UOB Art Galleries in China and Malaysia, as well as a comprehensive range of visual art programmes, partnerships and outreach activities across the region
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Established partnership with Museum MACAN (Indonesia) and continued partnership with National Gallery Singapore
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Launched a postgraduate scholarship programme on Data and Analytics with the Singapore Management University
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Supported education programmes and initiatives, including financial literacy programmes, for underprivileged children across
the region
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Raised funds through new mobile channels
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Raised funds through regional events such as the UOB Heartbeat Run/Walk, to help underprivileged and special needs children in Asia
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Quarterly financial reports and results briefings
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Periodic meetings with rating agencies
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General meetings with shareholders
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Annual reports
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SGXNet announcements
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Presentations, conferences and roadshows
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Annual Corporate Day
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Ongoing feedback from analyst surveys
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Feedback from institutional investors and ESG analysts on our sustainability efforts
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Stable and sustainable growth and profitability
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Reasonable returns to shareholders
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Balance sheet strength through economic cycles
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Responsible financing and investment
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Strong corporate governance and transparency
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Timely disclosures
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Ensuring strong oversight and accountability by an experienced and competent Board and Management team
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Ensuring high standards of corporate governance, transparency and disclosure
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Adopting a disciplined and measured approach towards business risks and opportunities
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Ensuring robust risk culture, governance and management
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Implementing responsible financing guidelines
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Ensuring timely disclosure and reporting
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Issued bonds across various markets and diversified our investor base
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Held more than 600 meetings with analysts and investors to share our corporate strategy, operational performance and business outlook
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Paid dividends consistently, with the 2018 full-year dividend at $1.20 per share
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Participated in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index survey that was conducted in 2018
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Responded to the CDP 2018 Climate Change questionnaire
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Enhanced our Investor Relations website to improve the user experience and engagement
Governments and Regulators
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Highest standards of corporate governance and ethical behaviour
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Prevention of financial fraud and money laundering
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Countering the financing of terrorism (CFT)
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Maintaining financial stability
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Taxes
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Support of local economies and industries
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Complying with applicable and current laws, regulations and policies
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Maintaining sound risk management systems and processes
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Preserving strong capital adequacy levels
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Providing regular compliance training for our people
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Conducting regular internal and external audits
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Developing products
and services for start-ups and SMEs
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Enhanced our anti-money laundering (AML)/CFT- and sanctions related systems and capabilities
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Ran training sessions on AML/CFT and sanctions risk management across the Group
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Collaborated with NTUC U SME, a Singapore Labour Movement initiative, to offer UOB BizSmart to small businesses
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Supported government initiatives such as the SMEs Go Digital programme in Singapore
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Contributed to development of local economies through efforts such as providing infrastructure financing
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News releases and media statements
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Media conferences
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Media briefings
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Media interviews
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Ongoing engagement sessions with media in person and online
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Issuance of research reports and white papers
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Social media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, WeChat)
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Timely, topical and transparent information on subjects of relevance to the Bank, industry and the communities in which we operate
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Prompt and accurate reporting of corporate news such as financial results
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Access to senior executives with specific industry expertise for media interviews
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Providing regular statements and briefings to update the media and the public on our business developments, initiatives and progress
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Ensuring prompt and relevant responses to media queries
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Ensuring the availability of our spokespeople on topics of relevance to the Group, industry and the communities in which we operate
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Sharing thought leadership to demonstrate UOB’s insight into the markets and industries
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Interacted regularly and frequently with the local, regional and international media
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Issued more than 120 news releases in our key markets to keep the media abreast of developments in UOB’s corporate strategy, business performance and initiatives
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Published two white papers on digital trends related to SMEs and FinTechs
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Produced multi-media content to provide clarity on details of announcements
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Managed media interviews in conjunction with news releases
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Ran more than 50 media engagement sessions
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Facilitated monthly media one-on-one sessions with senior management
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Responded promptly and relevantly to media queries
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Held biannual media conferences on financial results
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Generated social media content to increase awareness
Other Financial Institutions, And Industry And Trade Associations
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Membership, governance and committee positions in industry associations
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Industry-wide workgroups and meetings
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Conferences and forums
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Played an active role in the launch of industry-wide contactless payment initiatives, including PayNow Corporate in Singapore, PromptPay in Thailand, DuitNow in Malaysia, Faster Payment System in Hong Kong and NAPAS IBFT in Vietnam
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Worked closely with trade bodies such as the Singapore Business Federation and the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board to help businesses in their regional expansion
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Supported The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and the ASEAN Bankers Association on capacity-building workshops to equip financial practitioners with the necessary skills to manage ESG-related risks
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Worked with ABS on an industry-wide e-learning portal on responsible financing to strengthen the ESG capabilities of banks in Singapore
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UOBVM became a signatory to the Singapore Stewardship Principles for Responsible Investors, which was developed by the Investment Management Association of Singapore
Non-Governmental Organisations (Ngos)
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Deeper engagement and collaboration on ESG issues
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Climate change mitigation and adaptation
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More financing for clean and efficient technologies
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Responsible financing
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Respect for human rights
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Participating in NGO surveys
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Engaging NGOs to seek their views on our sustainability strategy, approach and initiatives
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Strengthened our ESG-related disclosures, which led to UOB being ranked second among ASEAN banks in the Sustainable Banking Assessment 2018
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Established a collaborative effort with Asia Sustainable Finance Initiative to explore more effective integration of ESG considerations into our operations