(Jan 12): HSBC Holding plc’s asset management arm got the green light to open a branch in the United Arab Emirates to tap one of the world’s fastest growing wealth markets.
The bank will kick off with offering 10 onshore funds to investors out of its new branch in Dubai, according to Daisy Ho, HSBC Asset Management’s chief executive officer for Asia and the Middle East.
“We have a long-term commitment in the Middle East,” she said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “This is one of the fastest growing wealth markets in the world.”
HSBC is pivoting to Asia and the Middle East, even as it exits businesses in the West under chief executive officer Georges Elhedery’s overhaul. The lender is investing across its corporate, investment banking and wealth management franchises, as part of its broader growth push in the Middle East.
The bank recently launched the region’s first wealth centre in Dubai and doubled front-line staff dedicated to the affluent segment, it said in a statement. The onshore funds will provide retail and institutional investors access to globally diversified strategies.
The UK lender joins others from BlackRock Inc and Barclays plc to hedge funds that are building out their business in the Middle East region.
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