The new kid onthe block

Hong Kong’s structured products market has become fiercely competitive, with most of the top foreign banks now active in the territory. But one of the newest entrants is home-grown. Warren Kwan, managing director of Bank of China International’s equity derivatives business, talks to Nick Sawyer

Take a short stroll through the streets of Hong Kong, and it’s likely that before long you’ll stumble upon one of the many adverts for structured products plastering the subway stations, shopping malls and bus stops. It goes to illustrate just how competitive the territory’s retail investor market has become. A mass of foreign banks have flocked to Hong Kong in the past two years, all vying for the attention of retail investors who, faced with returns of just 0.1% on bank deposits, have been