As the wealth of Asia-Pacific's high-net-worth individuals continues to swell, so too does the size and reputation of the region's private banking industry. This is leading to speculation about whether its two main hubs – Singapore and Hong Kong – may be growing to such status that one day they will replace Switzerland as the global private banking capital.
Hong Kong’s banks are unfazed by the student protests that have captured the world’s attention. Bankers remain upbeat about prospects for the continuing internationalisation of the renminbi, the maturing dim sum market and Hong Kong’s inclusion in China’s growth plans.
The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect will foster stock trading and capital flows between Hong Kong and mainland China, with numerous potential benefits for both sides. But competitors in the Asia-Pacific region are concerned it might eat into their market share.
Foreign investors have previously accessed Chinese capital markets through the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme, and since December last year the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme – which uses offshore renminbi funds – has broadened foreign investment in China. The development of these products is now gaining momentum, and the scheme has given a first-mover advantage to domestic Chinese firms, putting brands that are little known outside China on the international stage.
As the economic scales tip in favour of emerging economies – particularly those in Asia – it seems increasingly likely that one of the region's leading financial centres will steal the status of global wealth management capital from Switzerland. The question is, which city will it be?
The growth of China's economy is slowing, and with it the profit margins of its leading banks. However, with an increasing focus on SME lending, opportunities opening up in wealth management and the capital markets, and the renminbi edging ever nearer to achieving international reserve currency status, the mood among the country's bankers is still one of optimism, albeit of the more cautious variety.