It also plans to treble its client adviser ranks to about 60, as the Singapore lender seeks to capture rising wealth flows between China and Asean
[SINGAPORE] UOB is targeting a fivefold increase in the assets under management (AUM) and revenue of its Hong Kong private banking business by 2030, while trebling its client adviser headcount to about 60.
The Singapore lender currently has 20 private banking client advisers in the city. It plans to invest further in talent, advisory capabilities and technology as it seeks to capture growing cross-border wealth flows between China and Asean.
UOB does not typically disclose AUM or wealth revenue figures for individual markets.
At the group level, UOB Private Bank’s AUM has grown at a compound annual rate of more than 12 per cent since 2022. The Hong Kong business has expanded at a broadly similar pace, the bank said on Thursday (Jul 23).
UOB sees the expansion as part of a broader strategy to position Hong Kong as a bridge between the Chinese mainland and Asean, rather than as a standalone market.
The bank expects the city to play a growing role in connecting trade, investment and wealth flows across the region.
It cited estimates that Asia’s private wealth pool could reach US$99 trillion by 2029, while wealth flows from China, including Hong Kong, into Asean could approach US$100 billion by then, expanding by about 9 per cent a year.
UOB added that more than 70 per cent of its clients are business owners, driving demand for services ranging from investments and financing to succession planning and cross-border wealth structuring.
George Tung, who took over as CEO of UOB Hong Kong on Jul 1, said companies were moving beyond the traditional “China+1” model of diversifying their supply chains towards what the bank calls a “Growth+1” strategy.
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“As clients expand across Asean, their priorities are evolving beyond manufacturing and supply chain diversification to encompass treasury optimisation, financing, risk management, wealth creation and succession planning,” he said.
“This is creating a powerful growth corridor connecting (the) Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Asean, where trade, investment and wealth flows are increasingly intertwined.”
Since establishing its foreign direct investment advisory unit in 2011, UOB has supported about 5,000 companies expanding into Asean.
It has helped 2,400 Chinese enterprises venture overseas – more than 90 per cent of which chose South-east Asia – and facilitated over HK$190 billion (US$24.2 billion) of direct investment into the region since 2020.
UOB’s expansion comes as Singapore banks step up their wealth ambitions in Hong Kong.
OCBC said in May that it planned to hire 30 to 50 wealth management relationship managers in the city in 2026, lifting its headcount by at least 30 per cent.
Wealth management income at OCBC Hong Kong rose 1.5 times year on year in the first quarter, driven by a larger customer base and higher investment and insurance income.
The franchise is targeting double-digit revenue growth in 2026, and aims to become one of Hong Kong’s 10 largest banks by 2030.
