Dutch bank selects Hong Kong as springboard for Asian market

Hong Kong has been chosen as the first Asian representative office of Dutch private and business bank, F.van Lanschot Bankiers N.V.

With total assets of 10.7 billion Euros in 2001, it is the sixth largest Dutch private and business bank in the country. F.van Lanschot Bankiers was established in 1737 and is now mainly engaged in private banking for high net-worth individuals (HNWIs).

Speaking at the bank's opening ceremony today (February 18), the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Frederick Ma, said the bank's decision to open a representative office reaffirmed Hong Kong's importance as a regional financial services hub.

Van Lanschot Asia Ltd, a subsidiary of F. van Lanschot Bankiers, will be engaged in business development activities in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.

Research done by the bank shows that about 25% of all high net-worth individuals in the world, or some 1.7 million people, live in Asia.

"Hong Kong is indeed the gateway to Asian private investors and our main target. Apart from the fact that there is a high density of HNWIs in Hong Kong, the city offers the huge hinterland of China," said Mr Eric Kampman, the Managing Director of Van Lanschot Asia.

"Hong Kong is the absolute profit centre for most of the foreign banks operating in Asia."

The Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Rowse, said Hong Kong offered a myriad of opportunities for financial services providers such as F.van Lanschot Bankiers.

"We sincerely hope that the new Hong Kong office will be the beginning of the bank's successful expansion into the Asian market, with all its exciting opportunities," he said.

Ends/Tuesday, February 18, 2003