Looking to service wealthy Thais, Credit Suisse has expanded its Thailand operations.
The bank that has had a full-service securities house in Thailand for 16 years, has hired a team of 6 – looking to grow into 12, to target two key client segments – HNW individuals with assets of more than US$2 million (Bt71 million), and UHNW individuals with assets of $50 million, or $250 million in net wealth, of which the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2015, estimates are close to 340 in Thailand.
According to International Investment, Christian Senn, Credit Suisse’s private banking market group head for Thailand, noted that Thai clients are increasingly looking to diversify their domestic wealth through global investments, as the the regulatory policy towards overseas capital flows in the country “continues to evolve”. They also note that in 2014 there were 91,000 Thais with more than US$1m in investable assets.
The new team will be supported by the firm’s regional private banking hub in Singapore, which houses more than 200 investment specialists, and which was in charge of the Thai Wealth Clients until now. With Thailand, Credit Suisse now has an onshore wealth presence in six Asia-Pacific markets.