Western banks shrug off China risks and embrace Hong Kong

Hong Kong

GROWING geopolitical tensions and pulled initial public offerings have done little to dampen the appetite of Western banks for Hong Kong and China.

Standard Chartered chief executive Officer Bill Winters was the latest executive in recent weeks to signal that a sweeping Chinese government crackdown and rising geopolitical tensions between China and the US would not derail his lender's focus and investment in the region.

"We don't see a structural or fundamental change in terms of the business opportunities for Standard Chartered," he said on a call with reporters on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's continuing role as a conduit into the Greater Bay Area mean "the opportunities for us in corporate banking and wealth management will be very, very substantial".

His comments echo that of other banks such as Citigroup Inc, HSBC Holdings and Credit Suisse Group, which have all used earnings to underline that it is business as usual in Greater China.

This is despite a wide-ranging crackdown by Beijing on industries from its booming education industry to the technology sector last month, as Xi Jinping's Communist Party tightened its grip on the world's second-largest economy.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has halted initial public offerings of Chinese companies in response.

The regulatory push is taking its toll on markets, with Hong Kong's benchmark stock index sliding 15 per cent from a high in February. Chinese technology giant Alibaba Group Holding missed sales estimates for the first time in more than two years in the three months ended in June.

But international banks have long been bullish on Greater China. Hong Kong has provided growth to international banks as some revenue from their home countries were shaken by the pandemic, while China is viewed by firms as a lucrative area for growth in wealth management.

It is easy to see why. Asia was Standard Chartered's strongest region in the second quarter, with profit up 75 per cent to US$1.01 billion, countering declines in Europe and the Americas.

HSBC, which is moving several of its most senior executives to Asia, said Monday that risk-weighted assets in the region rose by 6 per cent from the start of the year.

HSBC's chief financial officer Ewen Stevenson said in a Bloomberg Television interview: "We're investing heavily in the market and investing heavily in China and the rest of the region. We're very confident about the long-term macro trends in Hong Kong and the rest of Asia."

Citigroup's chief financial officer, Mark Mason, said last week that China's recent moves to crack down on companies is unlikely to harm the bank's business across the Asia-Pacific.

Credit Suisse chief executive Thomas Gottstein said that while recent events contribute to "a less predictable short-term situation", the firm sees "very strong and robust economic development not only in China, but in Asia, that we consider to be attractive for our business models".

China's clampdown has even boosted business in the region. HSBC said Monday that the local capital markets had been given a boost by a shift in business from the US.

The bank said about a quarter of a US$35 billion year-on-year increase in customer lending at its wealth and personal banking unit related to short-term loans in Hong Kong were linked to initial public offerings, where clients borrow money to fund their purchase of shares in the latest listings.

Mr Winters said in a television interview on Tuesday: "Hong Kong is the place to be if you want to participate in the Chinese capital markets. "This is the hub of the Chinese capital markets and I don't think there's going to be any change anytime soon." BLOOMBERG