HSBC, the biggest lender in Hong Kong and Europe, will open a new wealth management centre in Abu Dhabi in December, as the lender has not found the conflicts in the Middle East have dampened demand for its wealth business in the region, according to a senior executive.

Mohamed Al Marzooqi, CEO of HSBC in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said the new project formed part of the lender’s largest investment in the Middle East in two decades, after the opening of a wealth management centre in Dubai last year – the bank’s first wealth hub in the region.

“We continue to see strong growth of our new high-net-worth and wealthy customers in the region despite the uncertain global and regional geopolitical environment,” Al Marzooqi said in an online interview with the South China Morning Post on Tuesday.

Even after the US-Israel war on Iran began in late February, HSBC has continued to acquire many new high-net-worth clients in the UAE in the first half of this year, he said.

“While many Middle East investors continue to diversify their portfolios geographically through Singapore, Hong Kong, London and Geneva, a growing number are also choosing to invest more of their wealth onshore in the UAE in recent years,” Al Marzooqi said.

“We continue to invest heavily in technology and platforms and enhance our service and products for clients in the UAE.”Al Marzooqi was speaking with the SCMP from Dubai, where the lender held its 10th annual Future Forum and its first Wealth Investment Summit from Tuesday to Thursday.

HSBC on Tuesday also released the results of a survey of more than 1,600 senior business leaders and 800 global institutional investors across 16 markets, including the US and mainland China.

Conducted in September and October, the survey showed global investors expect the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey to play a strengthened role in infrastructure investment and capital flows over the rest of the decade.

The report showed there were 4,500 infrastructure projects under way in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey estimated to be worth a combined US$872 billion.

“Our survey found that investors continue to have high interest in investing in the UAE, with 99 per cent of Asia-based investors and 97 per cent of global investors rating the UAE as an attractive destination for infrastructure investment over the next four years,” Al Marzooqi said.

Asian and Chinese investors had high interest in these projects because they were related to sectors they were familiar with, such as artificial intelligence, renewable energy, data centres and logistics, he said.

Jo Miyake, head of banking for Asia and the Middle East at HSBC, said that while the survey showed geopolitical instability remained a key concern to business leaders, they still wanted to expand in the region.

Some 88 per cent of business leaders planned to expand in the Middle East within the next four years, while 14 per cent of respondents said they would increase their exposure in the region by more than 25 per cent, Miyake said.

“The conflicts may lead some businesses to pace their investment, but they are not retreating,” Miyake said. “While there is uncertainty, people are more cautious, but there is still optimism in the long-term opportunities in the region, and the strategic rationale of our clients has therefore not changed.”HSBC last week announced the relocation of a senior executive from Hong Kong to run the wealth business in the region, appointing Sami Abouzahr as head of international wealth and premier banking for the UAE and the Middle East.

Before this appointment, Abouzahr was based in Hong Kong, where he had served as head of investments and managed solutions, wealth and premier solutions since July 2025.

HSBC launched 10 onshore funds in January, while it also introduced tokenised deposits in June to facilitate round-the-clock multicurrency movement, according to Al Marzooqi. The lender also launched the region’s first digital bond on the Abu Dhabi Exchange.

“We are very proud of what we have achieved over the past 80 years in the UAE, which has been a journey of building trust with our client base,” Al Marzooqi said. “Our strategy is also aligned with the UAE government’s agile approach to economic repositioning.”He said Hong Kong and Dubai could work together to promote two-way capital flows through HSBC.

“While Hong Kong and Dubai are competing in certain aspects, the two financial hubs could coexist by serving internationally minded clients who like to invest their wealth across multiple booking locations to diversify their investments,” he said.

“The UAE remains a strategically important wealth and capital hub, supported by its role as a gateway between Asia, the Middle East and the global markets.”