Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan has begun a five-day European tour aimed at attracting global capital and strengthening the city’s role as an international financial hub. The Hong Kong asset managers outreach programme began in Paris, where Chan met representatives of French asset management association AFG and think tank Asia Centre. According to the South China Morning Post, the trip forms part of Hong Kong’s broader push to expand its wealth management industry, wi

Bain Capital has closed its sixth Asia-focused private equity fund at USD10.5bn, exceeding its original USD7bn target, highlighting continuing institutional appetite for large-scale Asia private equity strategies. Bain Capital Asia Fund VI received approximately USD9.1bn from external investors, with the balance committed by the firm’s partners, employees and related entities. The Bain Capital Asia Fund VI vehicle will invest across sectors including technology, industrials,

Japan’s economy grew an annualised 2.1% in the first quarter, outperforming market expectations and extending the country’s recovery before rising Middle East energy prices clouded the outlook. The Japan Q1 GDP figures showed real gross domestic product rose 0.5% from the previous quarter, exceeding forecasts for a 0.4% increase. Private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan’s economy, rose 0.3%, while capital expenditure also increased 0.3%. Net external de

OCBC plans to increase its relationship managers in Hong Kong by more than 30% this year as Singapore’s second-largest bank accelerates expansion of its wealth management operations in the city. The OCBC Hong Kong wealth strategy will see the lender add between 30 and 50 relationship managers during 2026 alongside branch modernisation initiatives. The bank said Hong Kong remains a core growth market under its broader next-frontier strategy focused on wealth management and aff

Malaysia’s Maybank Asset Management has launched a private credit feeder fund with LGT Capital Partners, giving sophisticated and high-net-worth investors in Malaysia access to a diversified global private credit strategy. The Malaysia private credit fund will invest into LGT Global Private Credit SA, SICAV-RAIF and be distributed through Maybank Private Banking and Maybank Wealth Management. Maybank Asset Management said it is the exclusive third-party entity offering the LG

Hong Kong’s economy remains resilient, supported by technology-related exports, improving private demand and stronger financial market activity, the International Monetary Fund said following its latest Article IV mission. The IMF Hong Kong assessment reaffirmed the city’s position as an international financial centre, a “super-connector”, a major fundraising hub and the world’s leading offshore renminbi centre. The IMF said financial sector risks remain manageable because of

Japan has presented a draft plan to create specialised industry clusters across 10 regions, focusing on semiconductors, clean energy and other strategic sectors as part of efforts to revive regional economies and attract corporate investment. The Japan industry clusters strategy is expected to become part of a broader regional future growth plan as early as June. Hokkaido, Kyushu, Hokuriku and Chubu are being considered as semiconductor manufacturing and technology hubs, whil

US-based fintech Fasset has raised USD51m in a Series B funding round to accelerate expansion of its stablecoin-powered banking and financial infrastructure platform across Asia and other emerging markets. The stablecoin banking Asia funding round included investors such as SBI Group, Investcorp, Arz Portföy and several family offices, reflecting growing institutional interest in regulated digital payments infrastructure. Fasset said it plans to expand regulated banking infra

Family offices and independent advisers are increasingly adopting multi-hub wealth strategies as ultra-high-net-worth families seek greater resilience across booking centres, custodians, currencies and jurisdictions, industry executives said at the Hubbis Independent Wealth Management Forum in Hong Kong. The multi-hub wealth strategies trend reflects growing demand among wealthy families for diversified operational structures capable of managing geopolitical, tax, mobility an

Howden has appointed Alaric Lee as chief executive officer for Hong Kong, succeeding Alfred Sham, who will relocate to Singapore as chief strategy officer for Asia, the global insurance intermediary group said. The Howden Hong Kong CEO appointment remains subject to regulatory approval. Lee currently serves as chief commercial officer for Asia and brings extensive industry experience including more than a decade working in Hong Kong’s insurance sector. Sham led Howden’s Hong

More than 80% of surveyed enterprises plan to adopt artificial intelligence either immediately or within the next 12 months as companies accelerate the shift from pilot projects towards large-scale deployment, according to Cherrypicks. The Hong Kong AI adoption trend reflects rising demand for automation, process intelligence and human-machine collaboration across corporate operations. The Hong Kong-based technology company, a unit of NetDragon Websoft, said firms are increas

Macau has issued its first fund investment licence under its new Investment Fund Law to HOPU Investments, allowing the Beijing-based alternative investment firm to establish an asset management unit in the city. The Macau fund licence approval comes nearly five months after the law took effect on Jan. 1, introducing a new framework for private funds and structures including collective investment companies and limited partnership funds. Before the legislation, asset management

Hong Kong ranked among the world’s least complex jurisdictions for doing business, according to TMF Group’s latest Global Business Complexity Index, reinforcing the city’s appeal for multinational companies, investors and family offices seeking efficient regional operating hubs. The Hong Kong business environment ranked 78th out of 81 jurisdictions assessed in the report, placing it among the bottom 10 for business complexity alongside New Zealand, Denmark, Jersey and the Cay

LGT has appointed Anchalee Bunsongsikul as chief executive officer of LGT Securities (Thailand) Ltd, effective May 15, as the Liechtenstein-based private bank deepens its LGT Thailand wealth management presence in one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing affluent markets. Bunsongsikul brings more than three decades of experience in international banking and was most recently president and chief executive officer for Thailand and representative offices at Standard Chartered Ban

OCBC aims to double its consumer banking wealth business by 2029, after already doubling it since 2022, The Business Times reported, citing Sunny Quek, the bank’s head of global consumer financial services. The OCBC wealth business target is part of new group CEO Tan Teck Long’s Next Frontier strategy, built around a wealth management committee that brings together OCBC’s consumer bank, Bank of Singapore and insurer Great Eastern under shared financial targets. Quek said OCBC

Taiwan’s financial firms posted record first-quarter pretax profits as a rally in local equities lifted investment returns, wealth management income and brokerage activity, the Financial Supervisory Commission said. The Taiwan financial firms result showed combined pretax profit across banking, insurance and securities rising 37.09% from a year earlier to NTD370.997bn (USD11.81bn), beating the previous first-quarter record set in 2021. Banking pretax profit climbed 28.5% to N

Singapore is attracting more wealth from high-net-worth individuals and family offices as geopolitical tensions and Middle East instability increase demand for neutral financial hubs. The Singapore safe haven wealth trend has been reinforced by record total deposits of USD1.61tr in February, while assets under management rose 12% to SGD6.07tr (USD4.48tr) in 2024 and single-family offices exceeded 2,000 by year-end. Advisers said Singapore’s regulatory framework, currency stab

PitchBook expects global private markets to expand more slowly over the next five years, forecasting assets to grow at a 5.7% compound annual rate from USD20.3tr in 2024 to USD26.7tr by 2030. The private markets growth outlook reflects higher interest rates and weaker distributions reshaping the industry. Secondaries are projected to more than double from USD700bn in 2025 to USD1.5tr in 2030, while funds of funds may shrink to USD600bn from about USD900bn. PitchBook said the

Investors are turning to Asian equities for the next leg of the global stock rally, with Taiwan and South Korea emerging as key targets because of their exposure to artificial intelligence hardware, Bloomberg reported. The Asian equities rally has lifted shares in both markets, helped by gains in Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Derivatives strategists are recommending bullish trades on Taiwan’s TAIEX, South Korea’s KOSPI 200 and Japan’

Invest Hong Kong will increase engagement with Africa as Associate Director-General Loretta Lee begins an eight-day visit to Johannesburg and Kigali to promote the city as a gateway for African companies expanding into mainland China and Asia-Pacific markets. The InvestHK Africa ties push includes meetings with chambers, banks, financial institutions, fintech firms and professional services groups in Johannesburg from May 10 to 13, before Lee attends the Africa CEO Forum in R