SINGAPORE – Some 400 UOB employees have started work at Punggol Digital District (PDD), as companies begin moving into Singapore’s newest business and technology hub designed to anchor the country’s digital economy ambitions.

UOB said in a May 5 news release that the employees had commenced operations at the bank’s new $500 million global technology and innovation centre at Tower 80, a 300,000 sq ft facility set to house more than 3,000 staff primarily in technology, digital and innovation roles by October.

UOB is the first bank to begin operations in the district, which has been positioned as Singapore’s first smart and sustainable business district integrating businesses, academia and community spaces in Punggol North.

Companies and organisations involved in PDD’s ecosystem include the Government Technology Agency (GovTech), the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), Panasonic, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and UOB, according to JTC’s website. JTC is overseeing the development of PDD.

UOB said teams based at the facility will work on designing and deploying next-generation banking capabilities across Asean markets.

He added that the move would strengthen the bank’s ability “to build and scale future-ready banking solutions to serve customers seamlessly across ASEAN, while supporting Singapore’s Smart Nation ambitions”.

Employees from the UOB TMRW team are part of the first cohort operating from PDD.

The bank is also expanding its artificial intelligence capabilities from the site through initiatives such as its Model Analytics Platform and the UOB-IMDA AIDA Centre of Excellence, which trains graduates in AI and data analytics.

UOB said about 90 per cent of its employees group-wide underwent upskil...