Exclusive | AllianzGI bullish on China as ‘high-quality growth’ will create wealth management demand, CEO Tobias Pross says
- China’s pension reform and the rising income of the middle class will create demand for wealth management, providing huge opportunities for fund companies, CEO says
- Chinese regulators in August granted initial approval to AllianzGI to set up an onshore fund management company, which should start operations next year
German fund manager Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) is bullish on its outlook in Hong Kong and mainland China because of Beijing’s focus on “high-quality growth” and a rising middle class, according to its global CEO.
China’s pension reform and rising income of the middle class will create demand for wealth management, providing huge opportunities for fund companies, Tobias Pross said.
“Hong Kong is vital to our business because it is our headquarters here in Asia, and it is also because of the long term outlook on China which I remain bullish,” said Pross in an exclusive interview with the Post.
“China is going through a structural change. China in the past was the workbench of the world, but now it has leapfrogged to a high-quality growth economy,” Pross said, citing the examples of the world-beating quality of Chinese-made electric vehicles, and the development of Beijing and Shanghai into top-level cities comparable with Tokyo or New York.
“Beijing and Shanghai are clean and modern, while the people are friendly and the hospitality fantastic. People in these cities are hungry to be successful,” he said.