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Citi (C) Plans to Grow Asia Wealth Business From Hong Kong Base
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Citigroup Inc.’s (C - Free Report) head of global wealth, Andy Sieg, has announced that the company plans to expand its wealth management business in the Greater Bay Area and the rest of Asia from its base in Hong Kong. The move is part of Citi’s plan to tap into the growing wealth in Asia, particularly leveraging Hong Kong’s financial hub status.
Despite Citi’s plan to sell its mainland China wealth business to HSBC Holdings plc, it remains committed to Hong Kong and China.
Though Citi will exit its consumer wealth business in China, it plans to continue catering to the needs of ultra-high net worth clients of China via its regional wealth centers in Singapore and Hong Kong, through its International Personal Bank and Citigroup’s Private Bank operations.
Sieg stated, “The onshore consumer business in mainland China was sold because, similar to other markets where we divested such businesses, it just did not have the necessary scale to compete. Having Hong Kong as our base to serve our clients in mainland China is our strategy.”
He added, “Our commitment to Hong Kong and to China could not be stronger. We are extremely focused on this region as a source of growth for Citi's wealth management in the years ahead.”
Citi is optimistic that almost $100 trillion worth of wealth creation will likely take place across the world in the next decade, with the highest rate of growth in Asia.
Sieg said, “That represents an enormous opportunity for wealth management, and Hong Kong is the epicentre of this global wealth creation.”
Notably, in 2021, Citi had set a target of capturing $150 billion in new business in the Asia region by 2025. Thus, its pivot to the Middle East emphasizes its commitment to expand its global footprint in wealth management.
Sieg has visited Hong Kong and a handful of Greater Bay Area cities, including Shenzhen and Guangzhou, in order to meet the staff and high-net-worth clients.
He said, “When we think about the future for our wealth business, Asia is at the very centre and we are very proud of the presence that we have in Hong Kong and Singapore to serve clients in the region.”
In the coming years, the bank is also set to expand its credit card, retail banking, private banking and family office businesses.
Moreover, in March 2023, the Hong Kong government took certain initiatives to attract family offices and international investors, which underscore Hong Kong’s appeal as a financial nexus and gateway for investments in mainland China and beyond.
Sieg said, “Hong Kong offers a great base for family offices because it has a combination of deep history as a financial centre and proximity to what is taking place in mainland China.”
Over the past six months, shares of Citi have gained 38.1% compared with the industry’s 29.9% growth.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG - Free Report) has been considering further expanding its alliance with U.S. investment bank Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF - Free Report) . Per a Bloomberg report, SMFG’s new CEO, Toru Nakashima, is mulling to further widen the bank’s alliance with JEF into Asia in an effort to compete with its Japan rivals, who have been moving rapidly to build out their investment banking overseas.
Notably, in 2021, SMFG initially formed an alliance with JEF by providing $2.25 billion and purchasing 4.5% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Jefferies.
In April 2023, SMFG said that it would expand its presence in the United States by boosting its stake in JEF to 15% from 4.5%, pending approval.
Since then, the partners have won more than 30 deals in bond and equity underwriting. Nakashima stated, “It’s a faster pace than we had expected, it is going very well.”
Then, SMFG and JEF signed a memorandum of understanding to further expand their global strategic alliance to include enhanced collaboration across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Now, after announcing that the alliance will extend to EMEA, Nakashima has said that Asia should be the next target. He said, “If we do well in Europe, our discussion will naturally be, how about Asia?”
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Citi (C) Plans to Grow Asia Wealth Business From Hong Kong Base
Citigroup Inc.’s (C - Free Report) head of global wealth, Andy Sieg, has announced that the company plans to expand its wealth management business in the Greater Bay Area and the rest of Asia from its base in Hong Kong. The move is part of Citi’s plan to tap into the growing wealth in Asia, particularly leveraging Hong Kong’s financial hub status.
Despite Citi’s plan to sell its mainland China wealth business to HSBC Holdings plc, it remains committed to Hong Kong and China.
Though Citi will exit its consumer wealth business in China, it plans to continue catering to the needs of ultra-high net worth clients of China via its regional wealth centers in Singapore and Hong Kong, through its International Personal Bank and Citigroup’s Private Bank operations.
Sieg stated, “The onshore consumer business in mainland China was sold because, similar to other markets where we divested such businesses, it just did not have the necessary scale to compete. Having Hong Kong as our base to serve our clients in mainland China is our strategy.”
He added, “Our commitment to Hong Kong and to China could not be stronger. We are extremely focused on this region as a source of growth for Citi's wealth management in the years ahead.”
Citi is optimistic that almost $100 trillion worth of wealth creation will likely take place across the world in the next decade, with the highest rate of growth in Asia.
Sieg said, “That represents an enormous opportunity for wealth management, and Hong Kong is the epicentre of this global wealth creation.”
Notably, in 2021, Citi had set a target of capturing $150 billion in new business in the Asia region by 2025. Thus, its pivot to the Middle East emphasizes its commitment to expand its global footprint in wealth management.
Sieg has visited Hong Kong and a handful of Greater Bay Area cities, including Shenzhen and Guangzhou, in order to meet the staff and high-net-worth clients.
He said, “When we think about the future for our wealth business, Asia is at the very centre and we are very proud of the presence that we have in Hong Kong and Singapore to serve clients in the region.”
In the coming years, the bank is also set to expand its credit card, retail banking, private banking and family office businesses.
Moreover, in March 2023, the Hong Kong government took certain initiatives to attract family offices and international investors, which underscore Hong Kong’s appeal as a financial nexus and gateway for investments in mainland China and beyond.
Sieg said, “Hong Kong offers a great base for family offices because it has a combination of deep history as a financial centre and proximity to what is taking place in mainland China.”
Over the past six months, shares of Citi have gained 38.1% compared with the industry’s 29.9% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Currently, Citi carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Efforts by Other Companies to Expand in Asia
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG - Free Report) has been considering further expanding its alliance with U.S. investment bank Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF - Free Report) . Per a Bloomberg report, SMFG’s new CEO, Toru Nakashima, is mulling to further widen the bank’s alliance with JEF into Asia in an effort to compete with its Japan rivals, who have been moving rapidly to build out their investment banking overseas.
Notably, in 2021, SMFG initially formed an alliance with JEF by providing $2.25 billion and purchasing 4.5% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Jefferies.
In April 2023, SMFG said that it would expand its presence in the United States by boosting its stake in JEF to 15% from 4.5%, pending approval.
Since then, the partners have won more than 30 deals in bond and equity underwriting. Nakashima stated, “It’s a faster pace than we had expected, it is going very well.”
Then, SMFG and JEF signed a memorandum of understanding to further expand their global strategic alliance to include enhanced collaboration across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Now, after announcing that the alliance will extend to EMEA, Nakashima has said that Asia should be the next target. He said, “If we do well in Europe, our discussion will naturally be, how about Asia?”