The Thai unit of the Zurich-based bank Credit Suisse is aiming for 100 percent growth in its assets under management for the wealth management firm's first year of operation.

Credit Suisse (Thailand) has set an aggressive growth target for its wealth management business in Thailand, according to an article in the «Bangkok Post» on Monday, hoping to take advantage of its global network and expertise in attracting well-heeled clients.

The company's minimum level of assets for customers is $2 million, and its customers' assets average $5 to 10 million.

Grabbing Customers

Credit Suisse Thailand has steadily managed to grab customers and increase its asset under management (AUM), said Thippa Praneeprachachon, executive director and head of wealth management, without revealing figures, to the newspaper.

High-net-worth individuals are the company's largest customer group, representing 90 percent of AUM for the wealth management service, while entrepreneurs who have excess liquidity and are hunting for attractive returns make up the rest. Thailand has a large high-net-worth pool of individuals when compared with South Korea and Singapore, Credit Suisse's 2015 Asia-Pacific wealth report said.

Huge Investable Assets

Earlier this year finews.asia already reported in detail on Credit Suisse' plans in Thailand. There are around 91,000 high-net-worth individuals in Thailand with more than $1 million in investable assets, owning $456 billion of investable wealth. There are an estimated 340 ultra-high-net-worth individuals with more than $50 million in net wealth, the report said. Thais are now permitted to directly invest up to $5 million in overseas securities, according to the central bank.

With Credit Suisse's regional hub in Singapore, its affluent clients in Thailand can invest via foreign investment funds (FIFs) available in the city-state. Local banks in Thailand however are taking note, and some are pushing back, as finews.asia also reported this year.

Moves in the Management

According to an internal memo seen by finews.asia, Urs Grueter joined Credit Suisse in October as a Managing Director and will assume the role of Market Group Head Thailand as of January 1, 2017, reporting to Benjamin Cavalli, Head of Southeast Asia, Private Banking. Grueter came from UBS Wealth Management where he worked for 17 years, mainly in Singapore, and most recently as one of the Southeast Asia International heads.

Also in the memo Christian Senn, Market Group Head Thailand, informed the bank that he will be taking an extended leave of absence for up to 12 months starting from January 1, 2017, to focus on family commitments.