Foreign banks eye nation's growing wealth

While the full impact of the global financial crisis on the growth rates of Chinese wealth in 2008 has yet to be seen, China is clearly the most important opportunity for wealth managers in Asia excluding Japan.

According to a report from global management consulting firm and business strategy advisor Boston Consulting Group (BCG), China continued to have the highest percentage increase in assets under management (AuM), at 27.8 percent when measured in local currency terms and 36.8 percent in US dollar terms, boosted by very strong economic growth, and the appreciation of renminbi last year.

With Chinese households owning about $3.2 trillion in financial wealth, the nation is now home to approximately 44 percent of the wealth in the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, said the report, "Wealth Markets in China: The Beginning of the Race for China's Rich".