HSBC Private Banking on Monday announced its new private banking business in Thailand as part of broader efforts to grow its wealth management presence in South-east Asia.

In a statement, HSBC said the new private bank in Thailand is its second onshore business after Singapore, and will provide clients access to international capital markets by leveraging its existing infrastructure of advisory, investment methodologies, controls and systems in Asia.

The onshore team in Thailand will cover client management and advisory services and will be headed by Saranya Arunsilp, who has over 25 years of industry experience, including 14 years in private banking.

Clients' assets will be booked in HSBC's private banking arm in Singapore, a "preferred" wealth management hub for South-east Asian high net worth (HNW) individuals where it continues to expand its offerings and grow the international client base, said the bank.

Assets held by HNW investors in the region are expected to hit US$40 trillion by 2025, more then double from 2017. The assets of Thailand's HNW investors are expected to grow by 12.4 per cent to US$548 billion by 2025 with over 100,000 HNW individuals, representing the second-highest growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

Since 2016, Bank of Thailand has been introducing additional measures to relax foreign exchange regulation and encourage greater flexibility in the financial markets, opening up opportunities for selective offshore investments.

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Tan Siew Meng, HSBC head of global private banking for Asia-Pacific, said: "Our new private bank in Thailand opens up material opportunities for us to serve the fast-growing and increasingly sophisticated private wealth and business needs of new and existing clients in the country."

She noted that the bank's connectivity is central to its growth in Asean, which is key to its ambition to become the top wealth manager in Asia. HSBC has over US$1.4 trillion in wealth balances, with half coming from Asia.

Philip Kunz, HSBC head of global private banking for South-east Asia, said: "In Thailand and across Asean, private wealth is often created and built through business growth and expansion. As intra-regional trade and activity rebound, we expect commercial, people and wealth flows to increase."

International banks with a global footprint and a full range of capabilities to serve the fast-changing needs of affluent clients both onshore and offshore will have a competitive edge, he added.