Banks rush to offer wealth management connect services in Greater Bay Area

Banks on Tuesday launched two-way wealth management connect services, which will allow more capital flows across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Under the new scheme, residents of the nine Chinese mainland cities in the region, such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai, can purchase wealth management products offered by providers in Hong Kong and Macau (the south-bound scheme); while those in Hong Kong and Macau will also be able to buy products from providers based in the mainland cities (the north-bound scheme).

The highly-anticipated cross-boundary investment scheme is estimated to generate about US$670 million worth of wealth fees a year and is seen as a litmus test for more relaxation of China's capital controls.

OCBC Bank announced on Tuesday that its wholly-owned Hong Kong subsidiary, OCBC Wing Hang Bank Ltd, is partnering Ping An Bank in the scheme and has launched two-way services.

Citibank and China Guangfa Bank also announced similar tieup.

HSBC and Hang Seng Bank are also among the first banks to receive the regulatory green light and kick off services.

About 60 HSBC Wealth Management Connect Centres will help customers with account opening and enquiries related to the services.

After setting up accounts, residents in the region can make cross-boundary investments in over 100 wealth management products 24/7 digitally, HSBC Bank (China) said.

"Individual investment needs in the GBA will be further met upon the launch of the services," said Richard Li, executive vice president and chief client officer at HSBC China.

Standard Chartered Hong Kong said it is committed to promoting the two-way capital flows and supporting further financial development of the Greater Bay area.

Last month, Chinese mainland and Hong Kong regulators announced the rollout of the cross-boundary scheme.

The GBA is a cluster of 11 high-growth cities in southern China which includes Hong Kong and Macau and is the 12th largest economic entity in the world.