KUALA LUMPUR (July 22): HLB Private Bank, the private wealth management arm of Hong Leong Bank, doubles down on its private markets and funds offering with the upcoming launch of two investment vehicles available only to its clients.
The bank announced the upcoming launch of its two exclusive investment products, which are the Global Private Equity Fund-of-Funds II and the Private Markets Evergreen Income Fund (Resilience Income Generation).
These products are designed to help eligible customers capture illiquid premiums and operational returns through direct ownership and bespoke financing across the private landscape, providing diversification across top-tier global managers, infrastructure credit, intellectual property royalties and more.
Historically, access to these assets has been restricted to institutional investors.
The announcement was made during the Private Markets Summit 2026, the first of its kind in Malaysia, according to the bank’s press release.
The announcement also came at a time when the global private market universe is undergoing a historic expansion, with total net asset value in the sector growing 10-fold over the last few decades, and projected to reach US$25 trillion (RM102.38 trillion) by 2030.
Private assets have also risen to 10% of global gross domestic product.
"As a bank, we see ourselves as partners to our clients, empowering them to grow their wealth and diversify their portfolios in a robust and sustainable way. By providing direct access to private markets, this represents the key differentiating factor we strive to provide our clients," says Jeffrey Yap, HLB's managing director and regional head of wealth management.
He adds that investors who remain solely in public markets are only seeing the tip of the iceberg of the investment universe, as approximately 90% of large-scale companies remain private across global regions.
Furthermore, companies are staying private for longer today, for 12 years on average, compared to just five years in 1981. Private market offerings thereby enable investors to capture more value before companies are publicly listed.