Singapore wealth-tech firms are expanding into Hong Kong first, betting the city’s deep pool of idle savings, large wealth base and role as a regional financial hub can help their retail investment platforms grow beyond Singapore [1].
Chocolate Finance launched in Hong Kong last month with a product aimed at retail investors’ idle cash, offering 3.8% annualised returns on the first HK$100,000, with no minimum balance, no lock-up period and daily interest accrual [1]. Chief executive Tim Jones said the firm chose Hong Kong as its first overseas market because of the amount of idle savings in the banking system [1].
Jones estimated about HK$4 trillion was sitting in local bank accounts, including HK$1 trillion in current accounts and HK$3 trillion in savings deposits [1]. He said, “On average that’s about HK$500,000 per person sat in a bank account doing nothing,” and added that Hong Kong’s role as a wealth-management hub and its high adoption of digital financial services made it a natural first step outside Singapore [1].
The article says Singapore’s domestic market is smaller, which limits how far platforms can scale at home [1]. That has pushed some firms to look abroad sooner, with Hong Kong emerging as the clearest test market for products built to attract retail cash that would otherwise stay in low-yield deposits [1].
