UBS Asia expansion | Image:Wikimedia Commons
UBS Asia expansion: UBS Group AG is set to capitalise on the burgeoning opportunities in Asia, with plans to escalate assets originating from clients in the region to 20 per cent within the next five to six years, disclosed Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti on Tuesday.
Ermotti’s announcement, made at the Milken Institute Global Investors’ Symposium held in Hong Kong, underscores UBS’s strategic pivot towards the dynamic Asian markets. Currently, around 15 per cent of UBS’s vast $5.2 trillion global assets are sourced from Asia.
Highlighting the rationale behind this ambitious move, Ermotti emphasised the compelling “secular trends” prevailing in Asia, particularly driven by demographic shifts. These trends, he believes, will serve as robust pillars for sustaining UBS’s growth trajectory in the region.
Moreover, the ongoing integration of UBS and its domestic counterpart Credit Suisse is poised to unlock further avenues for expansion. Ermotti noted that the amalgamation of these banking giants will enhance their collective capability to seize growth opportunities across diverse geographical areas where UBS operates.
This strategic vision comes on the heels of UBS’s decisive intervention last year, wherein it orchestrated a merger with Credit Suisse to salvage its struggling counterpart. While this move broadened UBS’s market presence, it also necessitated organisational consolidation and workforce streamlining on a global scale.
(With Reuters inputs.)
