The similarities between Hong Kong and Singapore are striking. Kimberley Long looks at how the two are working together to punch above their respective weights.

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. 

Former chief secretary of Hong Kong, Anson Chan, tells Stefania Palma about the difficulties facing pan-democratic parties in Hong Kong, and defends the city-state's political protesters, saying that universal suffrage is long overdue.

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. 

With limited space and exorbitant rental costs, retail banks in Hong Kong have been rethinking the role of the branch. But rather than moving away from bricks to clicks, Hong Kong’s banks are investing in and revamping their branches. 

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?

With the recent Libor scandal failing to shake asset managers' confidence in London, emerging centres will have to work hard if they are to overtake the UK capital as the world's leading asset management centre.