Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the world's largest cross-border wealth hub for the first time, fuelled by capital inflows from the mainland as well as a fundraising boom in the city, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

In its 2026 Global Wealth Report, the group noted that wealth managers booked US$2.95 trillion worth of international assets in the SAR last year, up almost 11 percent year on year.

That narrowly surpassed Switzerland's US$2.94 trillion in cross-border wealth during the same period, which rose by 7.6 percent year on year.

Both Hong Kong and Singapore are projected to continue growing as cross-border booking centres at around nine percent annually through 2030, compared with an expected six percent average for Switzerland over the same period.

This, BCG projects, would widen the gap between the SAR and Switzerland to almost US$600 billion by 2030, supported by the mainland's strong manufacturing capacity, a revival in the SAR's initial public offering (IPO) market, as well as Asia's rapidly growing wealth.

“Hong Kong is cementing its role as China’s gateway to global markets, though that same concentration ties its trajectory tightly to economic and regulatory developments on the mainland,” the authors said.

“[Meanwhile], geopolitical uncertainty reaffirms Switzerland’s role as a core global booking centre, attracting flight-to-safety flows from more volatile regions such as the Middle East,” BCG said, adding that Switzerland would continue to draw clients from all regions.

Commenting on the report, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the country's national 15th Five-Year plan clearly indicated support for Hong Kong to strengthen its role as an international asset and wealth management centre, which also is the backbone of the city's "finance plus" strategy.

He added the rapid development in industries including innovative technologies and artificial intelligence has led to an increase in wealth and he believes the demand for wealth management services on the mainland and throughout Asia would continue to grow, which would benefit relevant industries in the city.

He said the SAR government would continue to seize opportunities to consolidate the city's status as a global financial centre and attract more wealthy individuals and family offices to set up shop here.

According to the report by BCG, cross-border wealth globally rose 8.4 percent to US$15.7 trillion last year, driven by increasing demand for geographical diversification.(Additional reporting by Reuters)


Edited by Tony Sabine