Hong Kong has done it again! It has knocked Switzerland off its perch for the top spot as the world’s largest cross-border wealth hub. But the irony is that Hong Kong has no borders while Switzerland has four with neighbouring countries: Germany, France, Italy and Austria..
The boost to Hong Kong’s international financial status came from an initial public offering (IPO) bonanza and capital inflows from China’s mainland, which shares a boundary with Hong Kong. Countries share borders with neighbouring countries but technically share boundaries with counties or provenances within the country. Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China with a high degree of autonomy. For example, both have different currencies, legal systems etc.
That very fine distinction was overlooked by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) when analysing cross-border wealth distribution. BCG is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963. It is one of the "Big Three" (also known as "MBB", representing the first initials of world's three largest management consulting firms by revenue) along with McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company.
The BCG report revealed that Hong Kong's cross-border wealth management assets reached US$2.95 trillion — a 10.7 per cent year-on-year surge. That figure edged past Switzerland's US$2.94 trillion by about US$10 billion, making Hong Kong the world's largest cross-border wealth management center for the first time.
BCG projects that cross-border wealth managed in Hong Kong will grow at roughly 9 per cent annually between 2025 and 2030, compared to only about 6 per cent for Switzerland. Bloomberg goes further. By 2030, the gap in assets under management between the two centers is forecast to widen to about US$600 billion. Today's slim lead is not a finish line — it is the opening lap of a far larger structural shift, said Bloomberg, indicating that the financial future for Hong Kong appears robust.
Last year, Hong Kong reclaimed the global IPO crown for the first time since 2019, with 114 listings raising US$37.2 billion.
The city retained pole position as the world’s largest IPO market by proceeds in the first quarter of this year. A total of 37 companies raised about US$13.26 billion on the Hong Kong stock exchange’s (HKEX) main board in the three months to March 31, representing a 453 per cent increase from a year earlier.
About 500 listing candidates, most of which were mainland-based, are now waiting to raise funds in the city, up from 300 at the end of last year, according to HKEX.
The BCG report received wide international coverage including the Financial Times, Reuters, Associated Press and Canada’s National Post all noting that the surge in capital flow into Hong Kong helped topple Switzerland’s long-standing status as the traditional safe haven.
Across this international media coverage, one competitive advantage of Hong Kong was repeatedly emphasized — its connectivity function under "One Country, Two Systems." The Associated Press highlighted how Hong Kong's close ties with the mainland market have driven its wealth management business. Reuters likewise noted that Hong Kong "is cementing its role as China's gateway to global markets."
The current trade mission to Central Asia by a 60-member strong delegation from the mainland and Hong Kong led by Chief Executive John Lee is indicative of the aggressive nature the city is taking to maintain its ranking as the world’s top financial hub. Besides businessmen and women in the delegation drumming up partnerships between Central and East Asia, there is a bevy of financiers with deep pockets willing to invest in new proposals. Representatives of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is also there promoting the bourse’s advantages for primary and secondary listings. This and future trade missions will surely broaden Hong Kong’s global client base while consolidating its role as China's gateway.
Mark Pinkstone
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Next month, on September 3, the world will celebrate Skyscraper Day when Hong Kong is expected to be crowned, again, as the city having the most skyscrapers. According to the Chicago-based Council on Vertical Urbanization, Hong Kong has 596 skyscrapers over 150 meters in height.
The city has been forced to build vertically due to its small land area and dense population and its skyline is among the most renowned in the world thanks to its robust financial sector, international trade connections, and creative urban planning.
Following up is Shenzhen with 444 skyscrapers and New York third with 317. The tallest building in the world is the Buri Khalifa in Dubai reach 828 meters and has 163 floors for hotels, residence, offices, observation decks and communication systems.
The council adds that Skyscraper Day is the ideal time to examine which cities have the most skyscrapers and how they represent advancements in economy and design.
Also, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has weighed in noting that when it comes to soaring skylines and architectural marvels, no country has embraced the vertical revolution quite like China. Hong Kong, along with Shenzhen, and Guangzhou (5th position) are part of a burgeoning megacity known as the Greater Bay Area, which is home to over 1,500 skyscrapers. This is even more impressive when considering that Shenzhen, which now boasts a population of 17 million people, was just a small fishing village until the 1970s.
Looking at this data from another perspective, China actually has more skyscrapers than the rest of the world combined. China has 12 cities, 2777 skyscrapers and 72 supertalls (300-599 meters tall) in the top 20, compared to the rest of the world with 13 cities, 2350 skyscrapers and 67 supertalls.
China’s prominence in the world of skyscrapers—with three cities in the top five globally—is likely to remain unchallenged, especially with the expected dominance of high risers in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis development, slated for completion in 2036.
In Hong Kong, the tallest building is the 484-meter-tall International Commerce Center which has 108 floors for the Ritz Carlton hotel, offices and retail outlets. It is also the 14th tallest building in the world.
This is followed by Two International Finance Center reaching 415 meters and home to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority which is housed from the 77th to 88th floors of the building. And third on the list is Central Plaza in Wanchai which is 374 meters tall with 78 floors of office space. On the 75th floor is a church – iSEE Church, formerly known as the Sky City Church – which is the tallest church in the world.
But tall buildings bring their own problems, especially with urban planning. In this regard, Hong Kong has long addressed the problem of the "Wall Effect" high risers present and instead has transformed its vast skyline into a global leader in sustainable construction.
The Hong Kong Planning Department has introduced strict Urban Design Guidelines and Sustainable Building Standards to break up the long rows of uniform high-rises. Developers are required to leave wide gaps, known as "breezeways," between tall buildings so that these air corridors enable natural sea breezes to flow through, cooling the streets and dispersing vehicle exhaust.
Also, the collaborative effort between the government and the construction industry has established Hong Kong as an internationally recognized hub for green high-rises. New buildings, for example, are required to allocate between 20 and 30 per cent of their site to green spaces, leading to high-rise developments featuring lush sky gardens, green roofs, and vertical planting walls that help absorb heat.
A classic example of this is The Henderson in Hong Kong’s busy central business district, which ranks it among Asia’s greenest skyscrapers, having achieved a top-tier Platinum certification for its smart, zero-carbon cooling systems and resilient layouts.
The certification process was conferred by the LEED global rankings of sustainable and environmental friendly buildings which placed Hong Kong sixth worldwide (and fourth in Asia) for meeting its strict criteria.
The verticalization of Hong Kong is necessary because of severe shortage of land. About 43 per cent of the total land area falls within the protected areas such as country parks, marine parks, wetland, sites of special scientific interest, and water gathering grounds. These areas are either statutorily protected or highly restricted from development. Development can only go up. But this has also bought a premium on land supply and price.
All land in Hong Kong is owned by the government, except where St John’s Cathedral stands, which was granted a freehold in perpetuity to the Church of England in 1847. The government leases and grants land for ownership for long periods of time, generally about 50 years or more. Land is released for development in a timely manner depending on demand generally through auctions. So for the current quarter, only one piece of land for residential use will be offered for sale in Kowloon to provide for some 250 high-rise flats.
The measured land release comes as Hong Kong’s residential market shows signs of recovery after years of downturn and when the government has lowered its land premium revenue target for the 2026-27 financial year to about HK$18 billion (US$2.3 billion).
For the current quarter, supply would also include more than 3,000 units from the first Northern Metropolis large-scale land disposal project in Hung Shui Kiu. The government aims to award the tender during the next week or so.
The Hung Shui Kiu pilot site marked the first land sale under the government’s new large-scale land disposal model for the Northern Metropolis.
Again, all of the once fertile agricultural and fish pond land in the Northern Metropolis will be transformed into a sea of high rise futuristic buildings to keep Hong Kong at the top of the skyscraper ratings for many years to come.
