Mainland Chinese financial firms seeking strategic Hong Kong headquarters on the rise: Citigroup
Against that backdrop, Citigroup's Hong Kong corporate clients seeking to expand into Latin America or other Asian markets could leverage the group's units in those regions, as they possessed the local knowledge and networks needed to support their growth, San said.
Many international companies from the US and other regions also favoured Hong Kong as a gateway to access the mainland and the broader Asian market, she added.
Aveline San, Citi Hong Kong CEO and head of banking. Photo: Edmond So alt=Aveline San, Citi Hong Kong CEO and head of banking. Photo: Edmond So>
After these companies set up their regional headquarters in Hong Kong, San pointed out that the next step would be for their owners to capitalise on the city's wealth management expertise.
"Instead of investing in a single asset class or market, our clients are increasingly looking for international diversification," she said.
Income earned from the Hong Kong units of mainland firms could be invested internationally through capital market platforms in Hong Kong, she said, noting that the city had a wide range of stocks, bonds and foreign exchange products.
"The many measures introduced by the Hong Kong government in recent years to attract family offices to set up here, alongside the many measures to promote new listings and wealth management services, [have made] the city more attractive to these wealthy international and mainland clients," she said.
Family offices are entities established by affluent families to manage their succession plans, investments and charitable endeavours. Since 2023, the government has introduced tax benefits, as well as an investment migration scheme, to attract wealthy families to set up their offices in the city.
The active stock and bond markets have also attracted wealthy clients to invest here, San said. The average daily trading volume of the stock market jumped 132 per cent year on year to HK$248.3 billion (US$31.9 billion) in the first eight months of 2025.
Some 66 companies had raised US$23.27 billion through new listings on the exchange's main board in the first nine months of this year, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group. The Hong Kong stock exchange is on course to regain the initial public offering crown this year, a title it last held in 2019 before social unrest and the pandemic took a toll on the market.
The challenge ahead would be in developing and recruiting talent, according to San.
"The government has done a lot on education, but there is always more to do to train local talent - in areas such as green finance, fintech, digital assets and artificial intelligence - to serve these companies and banks," she said. "We see opportunities for Hong Kong to lead the way in fostering an AI-ready workforce."
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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