Hong Kong (China) has surpassed Switzerland to become the world's largest cross-border asset trading center, according to the 2026 Global Asset Report of Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
This is the first time this Asian financial special zone has taken the lead, reflecting the strong shift of global asset flows towards Asia in the context of volatile international financial markets.
According to a report released on May 27, the amount of cross-border assets managed in Hong Kong reached about 2,950 billion USD, slightly higher than Switzerland's 2,940 billion USD. BCG believes that capital flows from China and the boom in initial public offering (IPO) activities in 2025 are two important factors driving Hong Kong (China)'s growth momentum.
The authors of the report believe that Hong Kong (China) is strengthening its role as a gateway connecting China with global financial markets. However, this position also makes the prospects of the financial center closely dependent on economic developments and management policies from mainland China.
BCG forecasts that Hong Kong (China) and Singapore will continue to grow strongly in the role of cross-border asset trading centers in Asia. These 2 locations are expected to achieve a growth rate of about 9% per year by 2030. Meanwhile, Switzerland is forecast to only grow at an average of about 6% per year in the same period.
The report said that total cross-border assets globally increased by 8.4% last year, to 15,700 billion USD. The main driving force comes from the positive developments of the financial market and the increasing demand for geographic diversification of wealthy investors. Most of this capital flow continues to focus on the top 10 asset trading centers in the world, making the asset concentration trend increasingly clear.
