Société Générale aims to increase advisors at its Asian private banking unit by at least half in the next four to five years, the firm has told Bloomberg.

Societe Generale Private Banking (Asia Pacific), which has about 100 relationship managers, will add at least another 50, Chairman Alex Fung was quoted as saying by the news service. The bank employs about 400 people in Asia, excluding Japan.

"We have a good appetite to hire in the region, there's no question about it," Fung said. "Societe Generale Private Banking is committed to the Asian markets and this is part of our long-term growth strategy."

The wealth of 3.3 million high-net worth individuals in the Asia-Pacific region climbed 12 per cent last year to $10.8 trillion, exceeding that of Europe, according to the Merrill Lynch/Capgemini World Wealth Report 2011.

Like other Western banks, such as Julius Baer and UBS, SocGen has been expanding its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. In a report in late May, the Paris-listed firm said the balance of global wealth is shifting eastwards.