BNP Paribas SA said Hong Kong’s boom in initial public offerings is adding further momentum to its Asia wealth business after a 20 percent rise in revenue in the first half of the year, according to its regional head.

Chinese mainland companies are lining up in droves to list in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region this year, sparking a frenzy.

Arnaud Tellier, head of Asia wealth management at the French bank, said there was still a lot of entrepreneurship, wealth creation, and opportunities for mainland firms to list their businesses in Hong Kong.

The SAR, a key booking hub, has already seen a strong return of money from rich mainland investors, a reversal from the pandemic period, according to Tellier.

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The Asian financial hub has been stepping up efforts to attract the wealthy with tax concessions and residency plans.

Hong Kong’s private wealth assets under management could nearly double to $2.3 trillion by 2030, potentially surpassing Switzerland as the world’s top cross-border wealth center, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

“During COVID, 100 percent of the mainland wealth flows went to Singapore,” Tellier said in an interview. “Now, it’s about 60 percent to Hong Kong, 40 percent to Singapore.”

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BNP has increased its wealth assets under management across Asia to $105 billion, up from about $80 billion at the start of 2024, according to Tellier. It added some $8 billion in net new money this year, and $9 billion last year. The increase in wealth revenue was driven by transactions, fees, lending, deposits and inflows, he added.

This year, the French bank added a net 20 bankers, including a team of about six bankers from China Merchants Bank International and it continues to hire, said Tellier, though he declined to give a target.