Private bankers at EFG, Bank of Singapore set big targets as Hong Kong offers ‘next big leap’ in wealth management
- Family offices will be ‘the next big leap’ for private banks using Hong Kong as a hub, Gordon Tsui of Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute says
- EFG International and Bank of Singapore aim to boost hiring, assets under management by 2025 to capture new opportunities
Some global private banks are laying out big expansion plans in Hong Kong to pursue major opportunities created by the city’s ambitions to become a hub for family offices in competition with Singapore, senior executives said.
Zurich-based EFG International aims to boost its asset under management in Asia-Pacific by two-thirds to 50 billion Swiss francs (US$55.8 billion) by 2025, according to board member Boris Collardi, who is also chairman of its Asia advisory board.
Bank of Singapore, the private banking arm of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, is seeking to boost its assets under management from US$124 billion to US$145 billion over the next three years in its key markets at home, and in Hong Kong and Dubai, its CEO Jason Moo said.
“We are positive on the market outlook for Asia over the next three years,” Collardi said in an interview on July 6. “We think some of this [asset growth] will come from market appreciation, while another engine will be driven by new recruitment.”
Hong Kong’s government in March unveiled several measures to attract billionaires to set up family offices to pursue investment, philanthropy and succession planning. It offers a refreshed investment-migration programme, tax breaks and art storage facilities, among others, to achieve its target of winning 200 top family offices by 2025.
