(Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley said its wealth clients are extremely bullish on China’s economy as the mainland reopens its borders, seeing this move benefiting markets across Asia.

There’s lots of demand for financial products and the bank is seeking to hire more private bankers in the region, Vincent Chui, who heads the Asia-Pacific unit serving rich clients, told Stephen Engle in a Bloomberg TV interview on Friday. 

Chui sees rising assets under management in the wealth industry this year, reversing last year’s trend where economic uncertainties and tumbling stock markets curbed clients’ transactions and asset valuation. “My best guesstimate is that for the industry overall, everybody is looking at at least 20% or so,” he said, referring to the potential increase in assets managed.

Morgan Stanley’s optimism on China echoes that of other firms including UBS Group AG, Asia’s largest private bank, which predicted an increase in business for its key wealth division in the region this year. China’s reopening is being welcomed by investors as a boost for the nation’s economy, that has been hit over the last few years by a crackdown on private enterprise and stringent Covid curbs.

The US lender ranks fifth among wealth managers in Asia excluding China, according to data from Asian Private Banker, which estimates Morgan Stanley’s assets under management at $162 billion in the region as of the end of 2021.

Even though the bank plans to hire, Chui said the talent pool in both Hong Kong and Singapore is limited, and he would focus on quality over sheer numbers. “I would say when it comes to experienced relationship managers, if I could get 20 by the end of this year, I think I would have done an exceptional job,” he said, speaking on the sidelines of the bank’s investment conference in Hong Kong. 

The executive is “very constructive” on the reopening of Hong Kong and China to the rest of the world, and client meetings in China are back on the calender again. 

“It’s a massive explosion of two-way transport,” said Chui.

--With assistance from Stephen Engle.

(Updates with more comments throughout.)

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