UBS Group AG aims to grow its wealth and asset management business in China, despite dearth of deals that’s weighed on some Wall Street and European lenders in the country.

China is a key strategic global market and is a place where “we want to do more,” Eugene Qian, China country head for UBS, said on the sidelines of the bank’s Greater China Conference in Shanghai yesterday.

“Particularly, we want to expand the onshore wealth and asset management platforms.”

His comments come after Credit Suisse last year dismissed its entire wealth management team in China as UBS decided not to take on the staff after the firms merged.

U.S. and European banks are “ring-fencing” operations in China as they try to navigate heightened tensions between the world’s two largest economies and tighter regulations.

UBS last year signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate with Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. to serve its global and onshore clients, he said.

The deal is part of a multi-decade effort to grow its presence, Qian added. “In China, it takes years to develop where we are,” he said. “It took us over three decades.” (SD-Agencies)