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HSBC plans to make inroads into the lucrative Greater Bay Area, as Hong Kong's largest lender expects banking sector revenues in the area to reach US$200 billion by 2025, according to a senior executive.
Hong Kong and HSBC can serve as a springboard for investors from GBA to allocate their assets in wealth management products, said Maggie Ng, head of wealth and personal banking in Hong Kong at HSBC.
"I'm sure this is definitely a battlefield where everybody wants to get in," Ng said at a forum to highlight the Skycity commercial development. "Hong Kong can serve as a platform through which we can get access to many individual customers."
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New World Development is investing HK$20 billion (US$2.5 billion) to develop the 3.8 million square feet commercial complex at Skycity attached to Hong Kong International Airport. Expected to be completed in phases from 2022 to 2025, the project is strategically located close to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, which has significantly enhanced connectivity with 10 other cities in the Greater Bay Area.
Adrian Cheng, CEO of New World Development, addresses the Skycity forum at the AsiaWorld-Expo, on Thursday. Photo: Yik Yeung-man alt=Adrian Cheng, CEO of New World Development, addresses the Skycity forum at the AsiaWorld-Expo, on Thursday. Photo: Yik Yeung-man>
HSBC and rivals like Standard Chartered are looking at the Wealth Management Connect scheme to sell wealth management products to the Greater Bay Area's 70 million residents.
Launched in September last year, the Wealth Management Connect scheme is Beijing's first scheme tailor-made for the 11 cities of the Greater Bay Area. The scheme has an initial quota of 300 billion yuan (US$46.5 billion) in fund flows in both directions, but each investor is only allowed to trade up to 1 million yuan on a net remittance basis.
Some 20 banks have applied to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to launch more than 100 types of investment funds including balanced funds, money market funds, equity and bond funds, which use different strategies.
HSBC's 130-plus outlets in Guangdong province, the most among international lenders, and 5,000 employees, give it an edge in tapping the bay area's potential, Ng said.
An HSBC branch in Qianhai, Shenzhen. Photo: SCMP alt=An HSBC branch in Qianhai, Shenzhen. Photo: SCMP>