An Asia-based sniper executive at Axa Investment Managers expressed confidence in Hong Kong and its ability to retain its status as a global financial hub, despite domestic turbulence.
«I think people talk about Hong Kong being replaced by somewhere else as one of the key financial centers,» said Axa IM’s Asia head of sales and trading Terence Lam in an «SCMP» report, referring to challenges such as ongoing protests, the coronavirus pandemic and the controversial national security law.
«If you really want to replace Hong Kong, it will take a long time and a lot of effort. I’m still very very bullish on how Hong Kong will survive through this. I’m not thinking, do we need to leave Hong Kong?»
Reports and public comments are divided on the sustainability of Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub with some echoing Lam's confidence in its resilience and others becoming increasingly wary.
Taiwan
Lam was also bullish on Taiwan following a newly signed master agent agreement for local distribution and it hoped to «double or triple» its asset under management there in the next one to two years.
«Taiwan has always been a very nice place for the asset management business,» Lam said. «I feel we had exposure in Taiwan before. We have clients. We have done a bit in Taiwan. We need to do more.»
Post-Covid
According to Lam, business meeting levels have only returned to 20 percent of the norm but noted that the pipeline was strong from clients who were «very, very eager to invest», especially for bottom-fishing of quality companies or digital-focused investment strategies.
«A lot of people, they have gone through the Covid, the lockdown. Everybody starts to realise the importance of these new themes,» he said.
