HSBC to Open Abu Dhabi Wealth Centre in December
HSBC's UAE chief says conflict has not cut demand from wealthy clients as the bank adds products and staff to capture wealth once booked abroad.
HSBC will open a wealth centre in Abu Dhabi in December, extending a regional build-out that started with a hub in Dubai, its first in the Middle East.
Mohamed Al Marzooqi, who runs HSBC in the UAE, said fighting in the region has not thinned demand from the bank's wealthy clients. HSBC picked up a large number of new rich clients in the UAE between January and June, he said, and that momentum held after a war involving the US, Israel and Iran began in late February.
Where clients book their money is shifting. Al Marzooqi said many regional investors still divide holdings between Singapore, Hong Kong, London and Geneva. More of them, though, now keep a bigger slice of their wealth inside the UAE.
The bank has been building products to hold that money. It launched 10 local funds in the UAE in January and brought out tokenised deposits in June, letting clients move funds in multiple currencies at any hour.
A poll shared at a forum in Dubai, covering more than 1,600 business leaders and 800 institutional investors in 16 markets, found geopolitical risk still ranked high among executive concerns. Even so, 88% of those business leaders planned to expand in the region over the next four years.
Jo Miyake, who heads banking for Asia and the Middle East, said conflicts could push some companies to invest more slowly. They are not leaving, she said.
HSBC moved Sami Abouzahr from Hong Kong to the UAE to lead the regional wealth arm.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are chasing the same pool of regional and expatriate money long booked in Singapore, Hong Kong, London and Geneva. Holding a larger share takes more than signing clients; it takes funds, deposits and lending products that keep assets in place after they arrive.
