SINGAPORE (May 8): UBS’s wealth management division in Asia Pacific saw invested assets grow to CHF 311 billion (S$441 billion) in 1Q17, from CHF 292 billion in 1Q16.

This makes it the first wealth manager in the region to exceed the CHF 300 billion milestone, says UBS in a press release today.

“As the results show, Asia remains an area of growth for UBS. We plan to consolidate our growth in the region by sharpening our focus on China, Japan, and Taiwan, as well as the regional wealth management hubs, Hong Kong and Singapore,” says Edmund Koh, Head UBS Wealth Management, Asia Pacific.

Over the last year, UBS opened a branch in Shanghai and another in Kowloon, its first branch in Hong Kong outside the central business district.

UBS says many of its Asian wealth management clients are entrepreneurs who require leading wealth management services, as well as capabilities to advise on and execute complex corporate transactions.

The wealth manager is also seeing the first handover of wealth in Asia — around 460 of the billionaires in the markets covered are expected to pass US$2.1 trillion (S$2.9 trillion) to the next generation in the next 20 years, according to UBS/PwC Billionaires Report 2016.