UBS Chairman Axel Weber on stability in China’s markets

Michele Limina | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Axel Weber, chairman of UBS Group

“In terms of where China’s going now, the economic situation is clearly improving since the second half of last year and we see that in our business,” Weber said.

The Swiss bank said earlier this month that it would launch its first Chinese private fund by year-end.

Weber told CNBC that an asset management license — which allows the company to manage money for institutions and high-net-worth investors on the mainland — was an important development for the UBS.

“Increasingly, mainland China and Hong Kong are collaborating, with the bond connect, with the stock connect and there is even talk about an ETF connect. As we get international clients, to be able to invest in mainland China through the gateway of Hong Kong … we can replicate our international wealth management products,” he said. “This is something we couldn’t do in the past.”

With stability a key focus ahead of China’s 19th National Congress of the Communist Party on Oct. 18, Weber also weighed in on whether things could take a turn for the worse following the conclusion of the closely watched event.

“I think people are always concerned about the banking sector and instability … There will be a correction in the market. I mean, we’ve seen there’s still a lot of bad assets that need to be written off in many banks, including European banks. And that will happen over time,” Weber said.

“I think China will engineer a transformation of the financial system, and a slow opening up,” he added.