Asia-Pacific wealth market deemed healthy

Aug 4, 2008, 0:31 GMT

Singapore - The Asia-Pacific wealth market is still posing healthy growth estimated at 11 per cent annually, a UBS executive said in published remarks on Monday.

UBS, the world's largest manager of private wealth, is seeing positive inflows of funds despite the subdued economic mood, said Raoul Weil, the Swiss giant's global wealth management chairman.

Clients are more cautious, he acknowledged.

'They are taking a much more conservative allocation, decreasing their focus to equities,' The Straits Times quoted Weil as saying. 'But they are not putting on the brakes.'

Upbeat about the Asia-Pacific region, Weil said, 'In the wealth management business, you have to take a very long-term perspective. We are investing for the next decade or so.'

UBS will keep up with its expansion plans, he told the newspaper. It opened its third wealth management office in Brisbane and its third Japanese office in July last year.

Six advisory centres were opened in China last August.

Singapore, following the opening of its new UBS office, and Hong Kong have the most experienced and largest team of wealth managers in the region, the report said.

UBS has seen its balance sheet weakened by writedowns it has had to make on securities related to the US sub-prime market.