Singapore is rapidly narrowing the gap with Hong Kong as the top wealth hub in Asia, though the latter will continue to play a leading role in the region, according to JPMorgan’s Harshika Patel.
Currently, Hong Kong has the «lion’s share» of wealth creation from Asia Pacific due to the city’s key role in economic and financial development within the Greater China region, according to an «SCMP» report citing JPMorgan’s Hong Kong CEO Harshika Patel.
«Hong Kong is probably going to be one of the biggest wealth centers in the world, and Singapore is catching up very quickly,» said Patel, who also recently succeeded Kam Shing Kwang as the US lender’s new Asia private banking head.
Macro Challenges
While Patel expressed optimism about Hong Kong’s outlook, highlighting the government's newly introduced measures to attract family offices, she also noted that uncertainty persisted.
«There’s lots of macro and geopolitical considerations that are playing through clients’ minds, but they’ve all got global ambitions,» Patel said. «All our clients are ambitious for their companies and for their personal fortunes.»
100th Anniversary
Meanwhile, JPMorgan is celebrating its 100th anniversary in Hong Kong next year. According to Patel, a series of events have been prepared to celebrate the bank’s first century in the city with a focus on clients employees and the local community.
«When you’ve had that much continuity in a region, my message to Hong Kong would be that JPMorgan plans to be here for the next 100 years,» she added.
