HSBC, the largest bank in Hong Kong with 6.2 million customers, will invest heavily in wealth management and technology in the city, using it as a base to tap the fast-growing markets in Asia, according to group CEO Georges Elhedery. “Hong Kong is on track to be the largest cross-border wealth hub on the planet before the end of this decade, and we are in a bold position to be able to capture this growth opportunity,” Elhedery said in a media briefing on Thursday. “I am very optimistic about Hong Kong.” Hong Kong, where the bank was established 160 years ago, is its largest profit contributor and biggest source of new clients. Pre-tax profit from the Hong Kong operations, including its Hang Seng Bank unit, grew 9.5 per cent last year to US$11.69 billion, largely due to the addition of 800,000 customers. “We moved our customer base from 5.4 million to 6.2 million here, which demonstrates how important the Hong Kong market is,” said Elhedery, who took over in September. HSBC’s customer base in Hong Kong was equal to more than 80 per cent of the city’s 7.5 million population, but that was not going to limit the bank’s client growth as most new signings were from those living elsewhere, he said. About two-thirds of non-local new customers were from mainland China and the rest from across the world, he added. “Hong Kong is probably one of the brightest spots for the last couple of years, so there is definitely strong optimism in terms of Hong Kong as a global financial centre,” Elhedery said. He said the bank planned to recycle capital saved from its restructuring plan and redeploy US$1.5 billion from “low-return” markets to markets like Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and India, with wealth management as the main focus. The expansion plan includes hiring more wealth managers, opening new wealth centres in Hong Kong, Singapore, mainland China, India, the United Arab Emirates and the UK, as well as exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital platforms. Hong Kong would be one of the big winners in the expansion plan, group chief financial officer Pam Kaur said in the same briefing. The bank’s big presence in the city would allow it to hire more people and grow quickly, said Kaur, the first woman to serve in the role at the bank. Hong Kong, which had HK$31 trillion (US$4 trillion) of assets under management in 2023, was likely to overtake Switzerland by 2027 as the world’s top hub for cross-border wealth management, according to estimates from the Securities and Futures Commission and Boston Consulting Group. Elhedery said HSBC would also invest in technology, including mobile apps and other digital services, to enhance customer experience. “The challenge for all of us now is how we can adopt AI in a thoughtful and safe way, while generating improved productivity and customer service,” he said. Kaur said the adoption of AI would not affect HSBC’s recruitment plans. “AI is an enabler to help you develop more products, to have better customer journeys in terms of the use of apps,” she said. “But wealth management is fundamentally a people business.” Elhedery said HSBC would also expand its presence in corporate banking, the small and medium-sized business sector and cross-border payment systems in the city, while at the same time use Hong Kong as a gateway to connect China with the world. “We are supporting Chinese customers to expand overseas, and we are supporting international customers to capture opportunities opening up in China by bringing them onshore,” he said. On the impact of US tariffs on China, Elhedery said companies would relocate their production and supply chains to eliminate the threat, adding that HSBC’s global network could help its corporate clients cope with the changes. London-based Elhedery hosted the second edition of HSBC’s Global Investment Summit from March 25 to 27 in Hong Kong, which was attended by more than 4,000 guests, mostly from overseas. “The Global Investment Summit highlighted the city’s vibrant financial ecosystem and growth opportunities,” he said, adding that the bank planned to turn the event into a regular annual meeting. “The level of dynamism, vitality and excitement at the conference is amazing,” he said. “During the summit, HSBC arranged 7,000 one-on-one meetings between investors and companies, which is 100 meetings per hour of the conference.” Elhedery also attended the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament sponsored by the bank at the new Kai Tak Stadium. He will host the bank’s informal shareholders meeting on Tuesday before returning to London.