A worldwide industrial renaissance, pushed by the vitality transition and advancing digitalisation, has created demand for trillions of {dollars} in funding over the following decade alone. Concurrently, non-public capital markets are evolving to supply parallels for financial institution or bond lending and fairness markets. How are these traits coming collectively for Asia’s high-net-worth people (HNWIs)?
HSBC World Non-public Banking
“Non-public markets have largely been reserved for institutional buyers, on account of their complexity,” says Mathieu Forcioli, World and Asia Pacific Head of Alternate options at HSBC World Non-public Banking “However in recent times, non-public market managers have centered much more on HNWIs.”
McKinsey estimates that personal property beneath administration exceeded USD13 trillion in 20231, and Bain & Firm predicts this might surpass USD65 trillion by 20322 – larger than the European Union financial system today3.
In 2024, Asia sits on the coronary heart of financial improvement, driving 46% of worldwide GDP4, but its rich people are barely scratching the floor of personal markets.
In analysis performed by HSBC World Non-public Banking in 2024, solely 25% of Hong Kong’s HNW buyers stated they’d entry to a variety of different funding merchandise, however practically thrice that stated they’d be assured investing in them5. Related entry gaps seem in information for mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan and India.

Supply: HSBC World Non-public Banking, information from September 2024
For personal markets professionals, the asset class provides a number of methods to achieve publicity to a few of the world’s most transformative megatrends:
Digitalisation Decarbonisation Deglobalisation
“We’re seeing public to personal, company carveouts and partnership offers being a few of the most fruitful areas to put money into the present surroundings.” says Alisa Wooden, a Companion at KKR in New York. “We additionally overlay these various kinds of transactions with sector, geographic and thematic views, however to us it’s extra vital to purchase good corporations we will make nice, to strengthen their market place and administration whereas additionally driving operational excellence and progress.”
Right here’s why some consultants see alternatives for Asian buyers to faucet into a non-public asset super-cycle.
Infrastructure enchantment
Digitalisation is altering how the world works, and personal capital helps finance the infrastructure wanted to deal with the rising information load.
In the meantime, the worldwide drive for decarbonisation creates funding alternatives in all the things from renewable vitality and transmission property, to charging stations for electrical autos and utility-scale batteries. Deglobalisation pressures are having an affect, too, as reshoring, friendshoring and supply-chain de-risking drive demand for infrastructure in new places, notably in vitality and logistics.
“A convergence of worldwide megatrends is shining a highlight on infrastructure. Investing in infrastructure property, which kind the spine of the worldwide financial system, provides buyers a compelling mixture of earnings, low correlation to different asset courses, inflation safety and draw back danger mitigation,” says Nick Goodman, President and Chief Monetary Officer, Brookfield Company.

Resetting the actual property cycle
Actual property has been by means of a difficult interval, however a pivot within the charge cycle may assist improve the sector’s enchantment.
“Key components driving a US actual property restoration are bettering debt and transaction markets, pushed by decrease rates of interest and decrease spreads, in addition to a dramatic decline in new provide,” says A.J. Agarwal, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone.
Actual property provides inflation-hedged earnings and capital progress. Valuations have a tendency to maneuver slowly up or down, making it a helpful portfolio anchor.
The asset class additionally intersects with megatrends. Synthetic intelligence is driving demand for information centre properties, whereas deglobalisation and shopper expectations of ever-faster supply improve the necessity for native and regional industrial websites or warehouses.
An undersupply of housing additionally boosts urge for food for rental properties, whereas buildings with inexperienced profiles may command greater valuations.
Various alternatives in non-public credit score and fairness
A constrained surroundings for financial institution lending has helped to spice up non-public credit score. In response to McKinsey, direct lenders had a 57% share of buyout mortgage quantity within the first half of 2024.6 Falling rates of interest might now assist to mitigate defaults – however they don’t seem to be anticipated to fall as far as to dent demand for credit score as an asset class.
“We view non-public credit score as a USD40 trillion market alternative spanning company and asset-backed finance, a majority of which is funding grade,” says Edward Moon, Companion, Head of APAC World Wealth Administration at Apollo.
Non-public credit score contributes to funding the vitality transition, which regularly requires long-term, versatile financing that’s unavailable by means of public markets. To maneuver rapidly on digitalisation or deglobalisation methods, non-public corporations may additionally search customised non-public loans.

Non-public fairness, in the meantime, provides a scale and scope that’s troublesome to match. Most corporations are non-public: practically 90% of all corporations with greater than USD250 million in revenues, in line with Blackstone. And it’s an asset class that has constantly outperformed public fairness.7
The problem for personal buyers has been entry, however that is altering. “Investing in non-public fairness is extra accessible due to the rise of modern open-ended non-public perpetual funds constructed for high-net-worth people and the mass prosperous,” says Ed Huang, Head of Non-public Wealth Options, Asia Pacific, at Blackstone.
Constructing allocations
At the same time as Asia’s public markets proceed to broaden and appeal to international capital, the area’s personal buyers could also be overlooking the huge potential of worldwide non-public markets, whether or not it’s in non-public fairness, infrastructure, actual property or non-public lending.
As transformative megatrends proceed to unfold, the non-public asset potential for diversification, greater returns, and decrease volatility additionally expands.
Remarks
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-capital/our-insights/mckinseys-private-markets-annual-reviewPrivate market property to develop at greater than twice the speed of public property, reaching as much as $65 trillion by 2032, Bain & Firm finds | Bain & Companyhttps://www.imf.org/exterior/datamapper/profile/EUhttps://www.imf.org/exterior/datamapper/profile/APQHSBC World Non-public Banking inner benchmark research performed globally, 10 September 2024https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-capital/our-insights/ten-private-markets-considerations-shaping-2024-so-farhttps://pws.blackstone.com/apac/essentials-of-private-equity
Disclaimers
Investments in rising markets could also be extraordinarily risky and topic to sudden fluctuations of various magnitude on account of a variety of direct and oblique influences. Such traits can result in appreciable losses being incurred by these uncovered to such markets.
This text will not be a personalised communication from HSBC to you and doesn’t represent and shouldn’t be construed as authorized, tax or funding recommendation or a solicitation of the sale or suggestion of any services or products. You shouldn’t make any funding selections primarily based primarily or solely on this text. All investments contain dangers and will expertise upward or downward actions and will even develop into worthless.
Issued by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Company Restricted