HKMA Unveil 5 Year Plan for Wealth Management Push

Earlier this month Dian Skelton’s blog brought the news that HFDC Bank has opened a new branch in Dubai that will focus on wealth management. Now HKMA has announced its intentions to place more emphasis on its asset and wealth management industry as the number of millionaires in the Asia-Pacific region is set to increase.

In this blog post Dian Skelton looks at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s decision to increase its wealth management influence in the region and how this will be beneficial to the people who use the service.    

Increasing Wealth

Dian Skelton is Director at ViewPoint Software Services Limited. ViewPoint specialises in wealth and entity management solutions.

A recent report conducted by Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management has found that the number of people with more than 1 million US dollars available to invest is set to exceed that of North America. Despite this, Hong Kong is still behind mainland China who are now the third fastest region in the world at producing millionaires, ahead of the US, Japan and Kuwait.

With this in mind, the next 5 years will be crucial for Hong Kong as they intend to build their brand as a wealth management hub. Commenting on this, HKMA Chief Executive Norman Chan Tak-Lam said that Hong Kong must create a brand that instils quality, reputation and confidence in order to see this vision become a reality.

Sticking to their principles

Despite their desire to branch out in the wealth management industry, Chan said that HKMA intend to continue to promote the yuan and the treasury management business. “The HKMA is working closely with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau to review relevant taxation arrangements to encourage more multinational and mainland corporations to establish their treasury management centres in Hong Kong.”

Furthermore, Chan also stated his intention to regulate the mainland lending of local banks as well as supporting local fund industries.

Dian Skelton’s thoughts

Dian has once again stressed the importance of wealth management, which is something that has become clear over the last few month, with an increasing number of banks deciding to pool more of their resources into wealth management.

She also commended HKMA for recognising the need for more stringent wealth management assets given the increasing number of millionaires in the region. It is a service that will be met with enthusiasm for people living in the region who need a comprehensive means of managing their wealth.

Not only will this appeal to people living in the immediate region, but will also attract foreign investment providing HKMA play their cards right and succeed in turning Hong Kong into a wealth management hub.