Deutsche Bank bets on Hong Kong for wealth management
Financial reform and stock connect cited as key factors behind decision
The growing number of millionaires and a raft of market reforms on the mainland have prompted Deutsche Bank to relocate its Asian asset and wealth management head to Hong Kong from Singapore.
Ravi Raju, the managing director and regional head of Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management in Asia-Pacific, said the move to Hong Kong was designed to capture opportunities in the mainland and North Asia in general.
"China is implementing many reforms aimed at the internationalisation of the yuan, which is expected to become globally convertible over time," Raju told the .
The latest step in that internationalisation process comes today, with the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme to directly link share trading in the two cities - and a parallel reform to scrap the cap on yuan conversions for Hong Kong residents.
This will be followed with a mutual recognition scheme for certain funds domiciled in Hong Kong to be sold on the mainland while some mainland funds will be allowed to be sold in the city.
"These reforms will allow domestic Chinese investors to invest internationally, and we are in a good position to help these investors implement these investments. We also have many international investors who wish to invest into the domestic Chinese market through A shares and other mainland fund products," Raju said.
