Caption: Chairman Hans T. Sy, rightmost, and President William Whang, leftmost, leading the ceremonial ribbon cutting, with directors (second to fourth from left) Philip Tsai, Claire Ann Yap, and Genaro Lapez.

China Bank has completed the retrofitting and interior design of its new extension office in the Mega Tower in Mandaluyong City.

The China Bank Mega Tower Extension Office, located at the corner of EDSA and Julia Vargas Avenue, is the Bank’s response to the challenges brought about by the pandemic and any future public health crises. The Bank is occupying three floors (26th to 28th floors) of the 50-story Mega Tower, SM Prime's tallest skyscraper to date.

A ribbon cutting and blessing ceremony was held at the Extension office last April 1 with a number of directors, Management Committee members, officers, and staff in attendance. Fr. Cris Cellan and Fr. Albert Bernal officiated the blessing ceremony.

China Bank Mega Tower Extension Office is the Bank’s sixth main office, including the Makati head office, Binondo Business Center, and offices at BDO Tower, PhilCom Building, and VGP Centre. This new facility affirms the Bank's commitment to protecting employees' health and safety by decreasing population density in the main offices, thereby reducing the risk of workplace infection, decentralizing the operations of head office units, and enhancing business continuity amid the threat of future outbreaks and disruptions.

The future of post-pandemic offices

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented global health crisis and economic destabilizer. As China Bank adapted to the challenging circumstances in the last two years, it set its sights on

building up resilience to future-proof its operations. Anticipating the eventual return to normal of life and business in the Philippines after the initial shock of the pandemic, China Bank initiated the Mega Tower Extension Office.

The open layout with 250 workstations per floor (one seat apart), proper ventillation, provision for conference/meeting rooms, communal spaces, and decentralized storage facility ensures good air circulation and compliance with IATF guidelines.

The extension office utilizes new technologies to combat viral spread. Air purifiers are installed in general work areas in each floor, the exhaust blowers are 30-40% larger than industry to further improve air circulation, and it has upgraded Air Handling Units (AHUs) with MERV 7 filtration.

Safety guidelines are also in place. All employees assigned at the Mega Tower must be fully vaccinated. Access to the floors requires the use of Employee-only keycards.

Command Center of the North

Employees residing in the northern parts of Metro Manila will no doubt find it more convenient to transfer to the China Bank Mega Tower Extension Office. Beyond mere convenience, Mega Tower serves another critical function: as command center in case of crisis and emergencies.

Having another major facility and splitting the workforce assigned at China Bank's headquarters and offices in the Makati central business district (CBD) strengthens the Bank's disaster preparedness. Should a major event occur in one facility, we can continue to serve our customers without interruption. And because employees and operations are not centralized in one area, the potential impact of threats on business operations is minimized.

Previously, the business continuity site was located at China Bank Binondo Business Center in Binondo, Manila. The size, accessibility, and proximity to the Makati CBD makes the Mega Tower Extension Office more ideal.

Mega Tower will house almost 800 employees from various business units or roughly 32% of China Bankers working in the Bank's head and main offices in Makati CBD.