(Yicai) Jan. 11 -- China remains a very important market for UBS, the chairman of the Swiss banking giant said at the 24th UBS China Symposium in Shanghai.

“China continues to be the world’s second-largest economy and wealth creation hub and is a key market for UBS,” Colm Kelleher said at the symposium earlier this week. “We remain committed to our onshore growth strategy, and we are in a unique position to provide access to China to international investors, as well as to support Chinese companies and investors who want to go global.”

Despite the challenges businesses face in China, the wealth management market is still the main focus of foreign institutions. At the same time, the demand for global asset allocation and the acceleration of firms and entrepreneurs going overseas are the main targets of institutional services. Moreover, the Chinese initial public offering market has the largest scale worldwide, which is a huge point for investment banks.

“The Chinese economy is expected to grow at an average rate of 4 percent to 4.5 percent between 2024 and 2030, accounting for one-third of global growth,” Qian Yujun, president of UBS China and chairman of UBS Securities, told Yicai. “We will further expand our portfolio from investment banking and wealth management to asset management, not only in China but across the Asia-Pacific region, with a particular focus on Southeast Asia.”

The previous measures of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, including strict reviews on the use of raised funds, management of refinancing scale, and share reduction regulation, aimed at maintaining market balance, UBS said.

However, with the implementation of optimization measures for the overseas listing system and the enhancement of the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong stock connect program calendar, foreign institutions accelerated their application for qualified foreign institutional investors and Renminbi QFII, UBS noted.

At the 24th UBS China Symposium, Kelleher also mentioned that the integration of Credit Suisse into UBS is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. “We will apply the UBS model, which is less reliant on the balance sheet and on risk-taking and is anchored by Swiss values,” Kelleher noted. “Our growth ambitions are focused on wealth and asset management.”

Yicai learned that the integration of Credit Suisse’s China business has been nearly completed in stages, and a small number of Credit Suisse China employees have already joined UBS. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse Securities is looking for buyers and has contacted potential interested parties.

Editor: Futura Costaglione