Bank of Singapore ‘bullish on Hong Kong’ as it hires bankers to tap growth opportunities in China, CEO says
- The OCBC’s private banking arm has increased its headcount, mainly relationship managers and senior bankers, by 15 per cent this year, CEO says
- The private bank sees Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai as stepping stones to expand its family office and other businesses to sign up wealthy clients
It has increased its headcount, mainly relationship managers and senior bankers, by 15 per cent in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan in the first four months of this year, CEO Jason Moo said. Assets under its management in these markets have risen by 10 per cent between 2021 and 2023, he added.
“We have hired more bankers here as we have ambitious plans to grow in Hong Kong,” he said in an interview with the Post, citing the ongoing stock market rally as a factor. Apart from its home base Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai are the two other cities targeted for expansion, he added, noting these three cities are where “we will focus the most in the coming years”.
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Bank of Singapore in February hired Rickie Chan, the former CEO of Credit Suisse Hong Kong, to head the Hong Kong operations.
The private banking arm of the second largest lender in Southeast Asia is also keen to expand its family office business in these four markets, citing the growing needs of wealthy families to help set up such offices to invest their wealth, plan succession and manage charities.
“We want to help families set up individual family offices and, at the same time, we would also like to provide an external investment services platform for multifamily offices,” Moo said.
The Hong Kong and Singapore governments offer a range of incentives, such as tax cuts and investment migration schemes, to lure wealthy families to set up in the competing cities.
