Standard Chartered plans to increase its investment in wealth centres and hiring in Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan to gain more affluent clients, a senior executive said, adding that it doubts Beijing’s stricter enforcement of taxes on cross-border investment will hurt the wealth-management sector.
“We are doubling down on Greater China wealth opportunity,” Judy Hsu Chung-wei, its CEO for wealth and retail banking, told a media briefing last week.
“Greater China – Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan – is one of the world’s most important wealth corridors,” she said, explaining that this was why the London-headquartered lender aimed to set up more luxury wealth centres, hire more talent, and invest in technology platforms in the three markets to capture growth opportunities.
Hsu said Hong Kong, Standard Chartered’s largest single market – contributing a third of its first-half pre-tax profit – was playing a key role in its expansion plan.
Standard Chartered recently opened its seventh Hong Kong wealth centre in Causeway Bay, meaning a third of its wealth centres are in the city. Another third are in mainland China and Taiwan.
“Hong Kong is our largest market and our leading cross-border wealth hub, connecting the region with global capital, investment opportunities and wealth,” she said.