Hires in Hong Kong, growth in Taiwan, Indian JV, Shariah and WM for women. Deustche Bank has taken six private bankers from JP Morgan in Hong Kong as it moves to expand its wealth-management presence in the city.

Among Deutsche Bank's new hires are Margaret Kwong, former head of JP Morgan's Hong Kong private-banking team. She comes in as managing director reporting to Deutsche Bank's North Asia chief, Kenneth Toong.

Propelled by rapidly expanding economies, personal wealth is booming in several Asian markets and wealth managers are sprinting to keep pace by adding private-banking teams. Singapore was the most competitive market with Hong Kong is running a close second.

Slower growth

Meanwhile ABN Amro sees 20% growth in its Taiwan-based wealth-management assets this year -- a come down from its rate of expansion in 2007. Not counting Japan, Taiwan is Asia's third-biggest wealth-management market.

ABN AMRO recently bought out the struggling Taitung Business Bank as part of its strategy in the market.

"We are optimistic about the Taiwan market. There are lots of affluent people here," Seraph Sun, a senior v.p. with AMN Amro, told Reuters last week. "Still, the target is lower than the 30% annual growth we achieved in 2007.

Sun says ABN Amro is projecting a slower growth rate in Taiwan because of rising volatility in global markets "due to the U.S. sub-prime crisis."

In a highly competitive market ABN Amro is shooting for a rise in assets to $3.9 billion in 2008.

UBS recently said it aims to double the size of its assets in Taiwan by 2009; HSBC expects to do the same this year. London-based Standard Chartered, Taiwan's biggest foreign bank by assets, plans to increase its headcount by nearly 30% this year.

Centrum Capital

In India, Future Capital Holdings (FCH) has put up the equivalent of about $6.2 million to fund a joint venture Centrum Capital called Centrum Wealth Managers.

Centrum Wealth Managers will take over Centrum Capital's retail broking, portfolio-management, and financial-products distribution businesses. The firm will function as a subsidiary of Centrum Capital, but FCH will hold a 50.1% stake.

"The Centrum partnership is consistent with our strategy to grow our "future money" franchise and to provide our customers with a broad range of products and services," says FCH's CEO Sameer Sain. "We are pleased to be associated with an innovative and progressive firm such as Centrum Capital."

FCH has also paid about $19 million for a 50.1% stake in Centrum Direct, Centrum Capital's foreign-exchange unit.

Centrum Capital and FCH are based in Mumbai.

Excessive cash

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is targeting Malaysia's wealthy with a Shariah-compliant wealth-management platform that includes investment-management, estate-planning and financial-planning services.

"KFH will be a one-stop-center for Islamic financial services in providing a diverse range of Shariah-based solutions, which include," says Salman Younis, KFH's managing director in Malaysia. "With more demand for wealth management not only from the high-net worth individuals, but those who have excessive cash, our introduction of Islamic wealth management is timely."

Safat, Kuwait-based KFH was established in 1977 as the first ever Shariah-compliant bank, according to its website.

Women only

There's a new wealth management firm in London called Addidi that caters exclusive to women.

"Whether our preference is for Aegean blue or fuschia pink, Perrier Jouet or Ruinart, Great Ormond Street Hospital or the Rainforest Foundation, it is my belief that one simple factor binds us all, the wish for our wealth to serve us well and preferably outlive us," says Addidi's founder Anna Sofat.

Women make up 46% of millionaires in the U.K., says Addida -- and that number is expected to increase to 53% by 2020.

Addidi seems to be a sideline: Sofat is also a director of AJS Wealth Management. -FWR

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