Credit Suisse trains sights on Asia's growing wealth

Credit Suisse, the second-largest bank in Switzerland, will focus on developing its wealth management and investment banking businesses in Asia in the next few years to tap the region's rapidly growing prosperity.

"Asia is definitely Credit Suisse's focus of future development," said chairman Urs Rohner in an exclusive interview with the Post on a recent trip to Hong Kong. "While the outlook [for] many European countries is gloomy, many Asian countries are enjoying rapid and strong economic growth."

He said despite the slowdown on the mainland last year, the country's economy still grew by 7.8 per cent, while euro-area gross domestic product shrank 0.5 per cent. He also said studies have shown the number of wealthy individuals in Asia is catching up with that in North America and Japan.

According to Credit Suisse's Global Wealth Report, China will surpass Japan as the world's second-richest country by 2017, with total household wealth exceeding US$38 trillion. The bank forecasts that by 2017, 25 per cent of the world's US-dollar millionaires will be located in Asia-Pacific, up from 24 per cent today.

Within the region, Japan and China will be the two most important sources of new millionaires in the next five years, with the number of millionaires in Japan projected to reach 5.4 million and the number on the mainland to nearly double to 1.9 million. The ranks of millionaires in Indonesia and Hong Kong are also expected to almost double.

Credit Suisse has 7,400 employees in 12 markets in the region and 440 private banking relationship managers. Over the past four years it has recorded growth of 44 billion Swiss francs (HK$359.07 billion) in net new assets in Asia. Assets under management in Asia are now worth 107 billion francs, about 13 per cent of its assets under management worldwide in its wealth management business.

While many investment banks had to lay off staff last year, partially due to a big fall in the number of initial public offerings in Hong Kong, Rohner said Credit Suisse would continue to hire strategically in Asia.