<div id="readability-page-1">Gold bars, cruises, Dior beauty services and Rosewood Hong Kong vouchers are just some of the incentives Hong Kong’s major lenders are offering in hopes of capturing wealthy clients, as visitors from mainland China descend on the city during the golden week holiday starting on Friday. HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong) – the city’s three biggest banks – Citigroup, DBS Hong Kong, ICBC Asia, Bank of East Asia and Hang Seng Bank have all extended the hours of certain branches on Friday and through the weekend to sign up new customers, offering them cash awards and other incentives. The five-day holiday that runs until Tuesday is a prime opportunity to sell investments, insurance and other products that fall under the wealth-management category, a major growth engine for the banks. The Immigration Department expects about 980,000 mainland visitors to enter Hong Kong between Friday and Tuesday, an increase of 7 per cent over the same period last year. The number of entries and exits during the five-day period is expected to reach 6 million. “Golden week is a rare window when many mainland customers are in Hong Kong at the same time,” said Frankie Yan, head of retail and wealth distribution, retail banking and wealth at HSBC Hong Kong. “Instead of just a holiday excursion, we know they want to get personal chores done – including banking.”  HSBC Life, the city’s biggest life insurance company in terms of new sales, has teamed up with Dior Beauty to offer personal beauty services at HSBC’s wealth centre, and is offering a horse racing lunch at Sha Tin Racecourse on Sunday. The lender is also offering an HK$18,000 (US$2,307) Royal Caribbean cruise suite to customers who invest at least HK$20 million and meet certain other requirements, in addition to a standard HK$88,000 welcome offer. Standard Chartered is holding a lucky draw for new cross-border private banking or priority banking clients, with a Rosewood hotel stay worth more than HK$10,000 as the top prize, on top of a cash rebate of HK$68,888 if they can meet certain investment criteria. Eliza Law, head of the affluent segment and distribution at Standard Chartered Hong Kong, said offering both wealth-management advice and a range of entertainment options during golden week had proved useful to expand its business. “Demand for cross-boundary wealth-management services remains strong,” Law said. “In May last year, the number of new priority private and priority banking clients recorded double-digit year-on-year growth, reflecting strong demand for wealth-management services among visitors to Hong Kong.” BOCHK has focused on the rising price of gold as a selling point, offering a lucky draw for cross-border customers with the top prize of a 50g gold bar, priced at around HK$58,000 based on the gold price at the end of April. The lender recorded a 30 per cent increase in sign-ups by wealthy cross-border customers during golden week last year, compared with normal weeks. Golden week is a period when customer footfall in key districts typically increases, owing to overlapping public holidays in Hong Kong and the mainland, said Maggie Yung, head of DBS Treasures and distribution at DBS Hong Kong. “For DBS, it is an opportunity to engage walk‑in visitors, maintain service accessibility and reinforce our presence in high‑traffic locations,” she said. New customers who open a new DBS Treasures account at select branches during golden week can get top-up cash awards. Citibank is offering HK$170,000 in cash to new private banking customers and HK$70,000 to Citigold customers, provided they join the city’s investment migration scheme and meet certain investment criteria. Greater Bay Area customers who sign up to use the Wealth Management Connect service through Citibank and invest 3 million yuan (US$438,708) will get a cash rebate of HK$13,000.</div>

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<p>Hong Kong's major banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Bank of China, are offering incentives like gold bars, cruises, and luxury services to attract wealthy mainland Chinese visitors during the golden week holiday. With an expected 980,000 visitors, banks are extending branch hours and providing cash awards to new customers. HSBC is collaborating with Dior for beauty services, while Standard Chartered is hosting a lucky draw for new clients. The focus on wealth management services is evident, with significant growth in new clients noted during this period.</p>

- Major Hong Kong banks are offering incentives like luxury vacations and beauty services to attract wealthy clients during the upcoming golden week holiday.  
- HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Bank of China (Hong Kong) have extended branch hours and are providing cash awards to new customers, as about 980,000 mainland visitors are expected.  
- These initiatives aim to capitalize on the high demand for wealth-management services during this lucrative period, with previous years showing significant increases in customer sign-ups.

Gold, cruises and Dior: Hong Kong lenders aim to entice mainland China visitors