Hywin Wealth Management could join be the latest Chinese wealth manager to build out its Singapore presence amid growing uncertainty in neighboring rival hub Hong Kong.
Hywin Wealth Management is eyeing the city-state for licenses in wealth management, asset management, succession advisory, insurance and brokerage services.
And upon successful license acquisitions, Hywin hopes to hire 10 to 15 people in Singapore to attract $500 million of client assets in the first year, according to a «Bloomberg» report.
Southeast Asia Opportunity
If successful, Hywin joins numerous other Chinese wealth managers that have recently expanded into Singapore which serves as not only an offensive play to tap into Southeast Asia opportunities and also a defensive play to hedge Hong Kong-related risks. Competitors already in the city-state include the likes of Noah Holdings, Lufax and CreditEase.
«Our Singapore plan is an answer to our clients’ demand [with] many of them are already in Southeast Asia,» said Hywin CEO Wang Dian. «We can connect Southeast Asia clients with Chinese investment opportunities through public markets and direct investment into private deals.»
Hong Kong: Cross-Shore Hub
Regulators and senior officials in the city have repeatedly assured that the post-law regime will remain unchanged when it comes to financial activities. Still, numerous wealthy Chinese individuals are already reportedly shifting assets to Singapore due to alleged fears about the risk of asset tracking and seizure under Hong Kong’s new regime though regulators in the city-state claim it had not observed «very large» inflows.
«Hong Kong is becoming more integrated with China, turning into what we call a ‘cross-shore' financial center,» Wang said, adding that the city’s operations would be retained to leverage Greater Bay Area opportunities.
The Shanghai-headquartered Hywin was founded in 1989 and is now home to over 5,000 employees and 100 billion yuan ($14.3 billion) in assets under management with around 100,000 mostly Chinese clients with investable assets of $1 million or above. In addition to mainland Chinese cities and Hong Kong, it also has a presence in New York and London.
