Hong Kong’s Octopus plans to double investments, spend millions on consumption voucher offers, new chairwoman says

Hong Kong’s home-grown digital payment platform Octopus Holdings plans to spend hundreds of millions in the coming years on technology and product development to bolster its competitiveness, the company’s new chairwoman has said.

The company intends to double its investments and spend millions on consumption voucher offers, as well as marketing efforts for the government scheme, non-executive chairwoman Jeny Yeung Mei-chun told the Post on Monday, without revealing the amount.

Yeung took up the position at the beginning of the year, succeeding banker David Eldon, who retired after seven years at the helm.

Yeung, who also serves as MTR Corporation’s transport services director, said Octopus had no plans to seek an initial public offering or other funding sources.

“We will increase the investment amount so that we can enhance and buy more technology and strengthen our services,” she said. “But I don’t think we have plans to spin off other financial arrangements. We believe the current mode of working is still suitable for Octopus.”

She added cross-border payments made through services such as Octopus UnionPay, which was introduced in January 2022, saw a five-fold increase since the full return of travel between mainland China and Hong Kong.

All border control points between the city and the mainland reopened in early February after three years of restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The opening of the border has increased usage of Octopus UnionPay. It’s still new but we see good feedback from customers … you don’t need a China bank account or Chinese mobile number to use our services,” she said. “No hassle, no trouble. That will help Hong Kong people, especially on the mainland, where usage of credit cards and cash is uncommon.”