Published by Finews Asia – 25th May 2018
Beyond China, Morgan Stanley is getting more wealth management business from rich people in Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore.
US-bank Morgan Stanley expects headcount to rise by 15 percent to 20 percent this year in Singapore and Hong Kong, Vincent Chui said in an interview with news wire «Bloomberg» on Friday in Singapore. He heads Morgan Stanley’s wealth operations in Asia.
That would add to the roughly 100 relationship managers which the bank had in Asia last year.
Demand From Second-tier Cities
The New York-based firm expects rising demand from the emerging rich in China’s second-tier cities like Xiamen, Fuzhou and Dongguan, Chui added. In the past, China’s billionaires came mostly from established cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
«The quantum of growth of China’s economy is moving away from the coastal tier-one cities, to the second-tier cities. It’s just the way the economy is growing,» Chui added. «Wealth generation follows that trend.»
More Rich People
Beyond China, Morgan Stanley is getting more wealth management business from rich people in Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore, according to «Bloomberg». The bank’s wealth assets in Asia rose at a double-digit pace last year, and may exceed that rate in 2018, he said.
Morgan Stanley is placed seventh among Asia’s 20 largest private banks, according to the «Asian Private Banker», which put its Asian assets under management at $102 billion last year.
