After seeing success in established Asian markets, the Swiss private bank has its sights on Indonesia's and China's rich.
Pictet plans to hire more bankers in its Asian hubs to grow the firm's business in the region, Claude Haberer, Pictet's Asia-Pacific boss, said in an interview with Fund Selector Asia. The Swiss banker said the firm will bolster its Hong Kong office to serve clients from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
The 214-year-old Genevan wealth manager will also hire in its other regional hub of Singapore, which services Southeast Asia, where it hopes to win a chunk of business with Indonesia's wealthy. «We must be in a position where a client has access to a banker, an investment specialist, a product specialist, as well as a partner within the firm,» Haberer said.
Amnesty as Opportunity
The wealth veteran noted Indonesia offers significant opportunities for wealth managers, especially since authorities launched a tax amnesty programme in 2016. The trade publication said the program has quadrupled, from $184.27 billion in 2016 to $700 billion in 2017.
Pictet currently employs 52 bankers in the region, who serving its main Asian markets of Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. The firm has 210 billion Swiss francs ($206 billion) in assets under management globally.
