Hong Kong to focus on fund and wealth management industry
De facto central banker vows to put greater effort into promoting the city's fund industry as the ranks of millionaires swell in Asia-Pacific
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority will put greater effort into promoting the city's fund and wealth management industry in the next five years, said its de facto central banker.
"In the next five years, the HKMA will put more emphasis on the asset and wealth management industry," said chief executive Norman Chan Tak-lam as he outlined the plans for his second five-year term on the authority's website yesterday.
Chan's goal comes as the number of millionaires swells in Asia-Pacific. The region would soon be home to more people with more than US$1 million to invest than North America, said a report released in June by Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management. It has 4.32 million high-net-worth clients, 10,000 short of the number in North America.
"The challenge for Hong Kong lies in building its brand as a wealth management hub that stands for quality, reputation and confidence," Chan said.
While abolishing the estate duty a few years ago boosted the fund industry, most fund houses still use the city as a sales centre only. About 70 per cent of their work in Hong Kong is related to fund sales, whereas they have a more diversified presence in New York and London.
"The rapid rise in the number of intermediaries is also a reason to applaud. However, it also suggests an underdevelopment of upstream value-added chain," Chan said.