Hong Kong overtakes Switzerland as world’s top cross-border wealth hub on China ties, report shows
ZURICH, May 27 (Reuters) – Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the biggest global booking center for cross-border wealth, a situation unlikely to reverse as centers in Asia are growing faster than Europe’s safe haven, the Boston Consulting Group said on Wednesday.
Wealth from China and an IPO boom in 2025 have helped Hong Kong rise to the $2.95 trillion offshore behemoth for the world’s wealthy, narrowly surpassing Switzerland’s $2.94 trillion in cross-border wealth, according to BCG’s 2026 Global Wealth Report.
“Hong Kong is strengthening its role as China’s gateway to global markets, but the same concentration closely ties its trajectory to economic and regulatory developments on the mainland,” the authors said.
Both Hong Kong and Singapore are expected to continue growing as cross-border booking hubs at around 9% annually until 2030; This rate was expected to be 6% on average in the same period in Switzerland.
BCG added that cross-border wealth globally increased by 8.4 percent to $15.7 trillion last year, driven by strong markets and growing demand for geographic diversity, flowing largely to the world’s top 10 booking centres, further increasing concentration.
CUSTOMER PROXIMITY IS IMPORTANT
Despite slower growth rates, Switzerland’s diversification could be an advantage as it attracts customers from all regions, while Asian hubs are heavily reliant on growth in China, the report said.
“Geopolitical uncertainty reaffirms Switzerland’s role as a key global booking hub, attracting flight-to-security flows from more unstable regions such as the Middle East,” BCG said.
Bankers and financial advisors told Reuters that wealthy individuals are looking to shift assets from the Gulf region to Switzerland in the wake of ongoing conflict.
“Ultimately, it’s customer proximity that matters,” said Michael Kahlich, one of the authors of the BCG report, adding that globally there are two hubs: Singapore and Hong Kong for Asia, and Switzerland, the UK and the US for the Western region.
Kahlich added that Swiss banks are expanding into other major centers as being close to customers becomes more important. “UBS is number one in wealth management in both Singapore and Hong Kong,” he said.
(Reporting by Ariane Luthi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
