A growing number of affluent people from mainland China and Southeast Asia are looking to park their money in Hong Kong because it is a global centre for wealth management, according to Janus Wu, head of international personal banking (IPB) at Citibank (Hong Kong).

Wu said in the first quarter, Citibank’s high-net-worth international personal banking clients surged 13 per cent from a year earlier while its assets under management rose 16 per cent.

The bank’s Citigold account requires a minimum investment of HK$1.5 million (US$192,308) and offers global customers multicurrency investment advice and products across markets.

Affluent customers from the mainland made up around 70 per cent of Citibank’s international personal banking client base, with the Greater Bay Area continuing to be a key source of new clients, Wu said.

Clients from other parts of Asia accounted for more than 20 per cent of the IPB’s client base. The bank recorded client growth of 7 per cent from the United Arab Emirates and also saw significant increases in client numbers from Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines in the first quarter from a year earlier, he said.

“The bank’s IPB segment recorded robust growth in customers from both the mainland and Southeast Asian markets as more high-net-worth, cross-border clients are seeking diversified asset allocation solutions,” Wu said.

Investors tend to be conservative and favour stability when choosing investment products amid market volatility, he said.