The bank confirmed the appointment of the senior figure, based in Singapore.

HSBC Private Banking, which as reported elsewhere has added recruits in the Philippines, confirmed to this publication today that Veronica Toh has joined the bank, based in Singapore as desk head for Thailand. 

The move comes at a time when a number of wealth management firms have stepped up their presence in the southeast Asian country in recent years.

A few days ago Julius Baer, the Swiss private bank which has also ramped up its presence in there, issued a wealth management report stressing the potential of Thailand. Aberdeen Standard Investments has appointed Robert Penaloza as head of Thailand and has and promoted Michelle Lopez as head of Australian equities. 

Julius Baer, which recently launched a Thailand wealth management joint venture with a local firm, is confident in the rapid growth of the Asian nation’s high net worth population and assets, expecting wealth to reach $401.2 billion by next year.

Liechtenstein-based LGT in early March created a Thai business, called LGT Securities (Thailand) Limited. Some firms have been in the country for some time, such as Credit Suisse, which recently named a new Thailand CEO. Thailand’s overall wealth market is estimated to be around $300 billion, with a rapidly growing population of high net worth individuals of approximately 30,000, according to the BCG Global Wealth Report 2017. The move also shows that Swiss banks are among those tying the knot with Asian partners. As reported last year, the Swiss Bankers Association said that the shrinking number of Swiss banks should consider teaming up with other firms to expand in Asia with its rising number of millionaires.