[ET Net News Agency, 29 June 2020] Morgan Stanley cited local press reporting that the
potential launch of "Wealth Management Connect" in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) this week.
The initial quota could be RMB150bn per side.
The research house said WM remains one of the most attractive businesses in finance. In
Asia, Morgan believes the WM industry is still in the growth phase and expects it will
generate some of the fastest AUM (assets under management) growth globally. This could be
one of the faster areas of growth for Asian banks.
Morgan also expects this new GBA initiative to bring additional revenue sources to HK
banks, given the large liquidity pool in the mainland.
Meanwhile, as equity-linked products are key WM products distributed by HK banks, Morgan
believes this will further channel China's liquidity to HKEX (00388)(Overweight; TP:
HK$345). In addition, these products in HK could be a supplement to the ample fixed income
products in GBA.
It believes the launch of a GBA financial connection frame has been the key turning
point to convert HKEX from a conduit of capital flow to China to the marketplace for
transactions that involve both China and global liquidity. (KL)