Why Hong Kong wealth managers want broader access to mainland China’s Nasdaq-style markets
Most asset managers in Hong Kong expect broader access to mainland China’s two Nasdaq-style stock markets to strengthen the city’s private wealth business, an industry survey shows, as hard-tech firms continue to attract investors despite a recent pullback. The report, released by the Private Wealth Management Association (PWMA) and KPMG China, surveyed most of the association’s 44 institutional…
A recent survey reveals that Hong Kong's wealth managers believe expanded access to mainland China's Nasdaq-style markets could bolster the city's private wealth business. The Private Wealth Management Association (PWMA) and KPMG China conducted the 11th annual Hong Kong Private Wealth Management report, which polled most of its 44 institutional members, including banks and major asset management firms.
The overwhelming majority, 91%, of respondents backed broader access for qualified investors to shares traded on Shanghai's Star Market and Shenzhen's ChiNext. Vivien Khoo, PWMA's CEO, emphasized the importance of expanding regulated investment channels, enhancing product diversity, and strengthening international wealth corridors to maintain Hong Kong's role as a global cross-border wealth center.
Hong Kong's equity markets have lagged global markets, with some sectors like semiconductors and memory chips benefiting from the AI hardware boom, while the Star Market and the ChiNext host a more significant concentration of Chinese tech firms. A significant 79% of respondents believed that Greater Bay Area initiatives linking Hong Kong with mainland China economic hubs would be critical to their offshore business in the next five years.
Overseas investors can trade mainland China-listed shares through the Stock Connect scheme and the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program, although participation is limited to a 10% ownership cap per institution. China's Securities Regulatory Commission has expressed support for foreign investors establishing wholly-owned subsidiaries or joint ventures in China's securities and futures markets as part of efforts to further open the country's stock market, which is valued at over 100 trillion yuan.
Amy Lo, chairman of the PWMA executive committee and CEO of UBS Hong Kong, highlighted the city's resilience and adaptability, asserting that Hong Kong remains a trusted platform for managing and booking wealth for clients, with 94% of surveyed firms expressing moderate to high optimism about the market's prospects over the next five years.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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