London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Hong Kong wealth managers can’t wait for new Connect programme, with Singapore ready to pounce on city’s troubles

Cross-border Wealth Management Connect seen boosting Hong Kong fund managers like stock and bond programmes. Recent updates from HKMA suggests programme launch is imminent, sources say

China’s plan to turn the Greater Bay Area into a hub for wealth management products will help turbocharge Hong Kong’s fund industry, giving it an invaluable edge in warding off challenges from Singapore, market players said.

While Singapore is firmly entrenched in Southeast Asia, the former British colony could stake in a leading role in the broader Asian region with the opening up of the Greater Bay Area in the coming years, according to the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association (HKIFA).

“The Wealth Management Connect will expand the customer size of Hong Kong fund houses by 10 times,” Chairman Bruno Lee said in an interview with the Post. “This will be an important driving force to help Hong Kong to win over Singapore as a leading hub in Asia.”

The programme cannot come soon enough for the city whose future has been clouded by back-to-back turmoil, first from the anti-government protests last year and now the controversy over the national security law. Singapore, a perennial rival and a pillar of stability, is seen as benefiting from capital outflows from Hong Kong.

The new Connect programme will be the fourth China-Hong Kong cross-border financial plan, after the introduction of several stock and bond connections between 2014 and 2017. Mainland investors now contribute 5 to 10 per cent of daily stock transactions on the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to market data.

“These previous connect schemes have proven to be successful for their high turnover,” Lee said. “We expect the new wealth management scheme will follow the same growth pattern.”

The People’s Bank of China and financial market regulators first unveiled the proposal in 2019 and elaborated on the idea last month for a region that integrates nine southern Chinese cities with Hong Kong and Macau.

The plan seeks to reduce cross-border rules for 70 million residents in the 11 cities to access wealth products such as mutual funds amid an expected increase in the number of millionaires in a region with an estimated US$1.5 trillion (HK$11.6 trillion) in output, or as large as the Russian or South Korean economy.

Lee said the association has presented its “wish list” to the Hong Kong government. It includes allowing more than 2,000 products currently authorised by the Securities and Futures Commission to be sold to mainlanders.

“We also want to see a big quota for the whole scheme, and no cap on individual fund sales,” Lee added.

The southern Guangdong province, where the nine bay-area cities are located, has the second-highest number of mainland households with investible assets of over 6 million yuan (US$848,163), behind Beijing, according to the Hurun Institute.

The Wealth Management Connect will fuel assets under management in Hong Kong over the next decade, with global private banks and big players such as UBS and HSBC likely to tap into the bay area opportunities, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is working on the details of the scheme, according to the de facto central bank on its website. However, no tentative launch date has been announced.

About one-third of Hong Kong-based fund managers expect their assets under management from mainlanders to grow by 30 per cent between now and 2025, according to a survey by HKIFA and accounting firm KPMG last week.

There was US$3.25 trillion of investible wealth in Hong Kong in 2018, of which US$1.3 trillion came from cross-border sources, the Financial Services Development Council, a government body, said in February citing third-party data. The figures for Singapore were US$1.67 trillion and US$1 trillion, respectively.

As the first connect scheme for the Bay area becomes a test bed for financial integration, China may require Hong Kong-based fund managers to offer investment education and advisory services to mainlanders, said Christine Lin, a partner at consultancy firm EY.

BEA Union Investment, a Hong Kong-based fund house, is among money managers eyeing the growth potential, Chief Executive Eleanor Wan said.

“Wealth Management Connect has strategic importance for GBA to substantially increase opportunities for individual investors, industry players and talents,” she said. The programme can build on the existing strength of Hong Kong as a financial services hub, she added.




Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×