The digital platform is part of the lender's planned US$1.5 billion investment in the wealth management business over the next five years Standard Chartered, one of Hong Kong's three note-issuing banks, will this month launch a digital platform for tech-savvy young investors as part of the lender's effort to attract affluent customers, according to its Hong Kong chief.
The platform would allow investors to carry out investment research and trade a range of products such as stocks, funds and other alternative assets, Mary Huen Wai-yi, the bank's CEO of Hong Kong, Greater China and North Asia, said in a media briefing on Friday.
"Traditionally, many wealthy customers like to talk to bankers or relationship managers about their investments. But the new generation of investors may prefer to trade on a digital platform by themselves," Huen said.
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"This is why we believe a new digital platform would help us attract a new group of mass and premium clients who have the potential to become our private banking clients in future."
The new platform was part of the lender's planned US$1.5 billion investment in the wealth management business over the next five years, with Hong Kong to be the focus of the expansion, group CEO Bill Winters told the Post in February.
The bank will also open its sixth wealth management centre in Hong Kong this year, after opening two such centres in Taiwan and three on the mainland in recent years. These have been effective in attracting wealthy customers to establish long-term relationships with the bank, Huen said.
Affluent wealth management is a key global growth engine for Standard Chartered, which last Thursday reported its first-half net profit rose 41 per cent to US$3.07 billion.
Hong Kong figures prominently in the bank's growth plan. Underlying pre-tax profit in the city for the first half jumped 39 per cent to a record US$1.45 billion, representing 30 per cent of the total, making Hong Kong the lender's biggest market.
This was driven by an 8 per cent growth in the number of affluent clients who had more than HK$200,000 (US$25,477) deposited with the bank in the first half, with net new money from these clients jumping 35 per cent, Huen said.
With the expected US interest rate cut in the second half and the low Hong Kong interbank rate - with the one-month Hibor below 1 per cent - Huen said banks' interest income would be affected.
"Increased fee income in the second half would be able to offset the impact of the low interest rate," she said.
The equities market has bounced back, with the Hang Seng Index rising more than 20 per cent so far in 2025, on top of an 18 per cent rise last year, which has encouraged investors to become more active.
"The improved sentiment also helps corporate clients feel more comfortable borrowing money to expand. I believe we can see single digit growth in loans this year," she said.
Standard Chartered's Hong Kong unit has seen a 79 per cent expansion of credit impairment to US$168 million, including US$58 million related to commercial real estate in the city.
Huen said its lending for commercial real estate was US$2.1 billion, representing only 2 per cent of its US$86.6 billion loan book in Hong Kong.
"I do not think we need to worry as our exposure to commercial real estate is low, while most lending is very healthy," she said.
Standard Chartered will continue to support its Hong Kong corporate clients in expanding overseas and conducting cross-border trade businesses, Huen added. Its bankers will lead clients on visits to Southeast Asian markets and the Middle East in the coming months to explore new opportunities.
"Amid the threat of [high US tariffs], we have seen many Hong Kong customers wanting to set up product plants in other Asian cities or to sell products in these markets," Huen said.
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
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