CITIC Bank International Limited has launched its private banking service in Hong Kong, in a bid to capture the growing number of high net worth individuals in the Mainland and the rest of the region.

The new CBI Private Banking branch is located at Lippo Centre in Admiralty and provides a wide range of private banking products and services, including wealth protection and enhancement, asset revitalisation, onshore and offshore financial services, succession planning and lifestyle events to HNWIs, or those with investable assets of at least $1 million.

"China's economic boom in recent years has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in HNWIs in the Mainland, currently at 700,000 to 800,000. Our mid-term goal is to capture 3 to 5 per cent of the Mainland's private banking market share," said Cao Tong, the executive vice president of China CITIC Bank Corporation, the parent firm of CBI.

Hong Kong is also not to be outdone in terms of HNWI numbers. According to the bank, a considerable proportion of its 18,000 CITICfirst clients meets the threshold for private banking based on their AUM with CBI. The company presently has 30 branches in Hong Kong, with other branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Macau. CBI also has overseas offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Singapore.