Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the world's largest cross-border wealth hub, driven by an initial public offering (IPO) bonanza and capital inflows from mainland China, according to Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Cross-border wealth booked in Hong Kong climbed 10.7% in 2025 to US$2.95 trillion, narrowly beating Switzerland's US$2.94 trillion after rising 7.6% last year, the international consultancy said in its latest global wealth report released on Wednesday.
"These shifts are reshaping the geography of global wealth," said Michael Kahlich, a managing director at BCG and a co-author of the report. "Hong Kong's rise reflects the growing gravitational pull of Asian wealth and capital markets."
He added that cross-border capital flows had concentrated into a smaller number of globally connected hubs.
BCG's finding represented an endorsement of Hong Kong's "superconnector" role as a vital link between mainland and international capital markets.
Over the past three years, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has deregulated equity financing, debt financing and commodity trading to facilitate cross-border investment and trading, aiming to build a multi-asset platform consolidating Hong Kong's status as an international finance hub.
"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 report said. A cross-border wealth growth of "around 9% annually is projected through 2030".
That pace would be enough to secure Hong Kong's leading position over the next five years, with Switzerland's cross-border wealth expected to rise at an annualised rate of 6% during the same period, BCG said.
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 main board in the three months to March 31, according to data from LSEG Data and Analytics. That represented a 453% increase from a year earlier.
About 500 listing candidates, most of which were mainland-based, were now waiting to raise funds in the city, up from 300 at the end of last year, HKEX data showed.
The BCG report also found that global financial wealth increased 10.7% last year to US$333 trillion despite trade tensions and geopolitical instability.
Including real assets, global net wealth climbed to nearly US$550 trillion. Cross-border wealth increased 8.4% globally to US$15.7 trillion, with the top 10 booking centres capturing almost 90% of new offshore flows.
Singapore and the US ranked third and fourth in terms of cross-border wealth, while the UK placed fifth, according to BCG.
Singapore continued to strengthen its position as Asia's most diversified offshore wealth centre, benefiting from safe-haven flows and continued expansion of its wealth-management ecosystem, the report said.
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