HONG KONG, March 24 Reuters Wealth management firms are expanding operations aggressively in Hong Kong to meet pentup demand from rich Chinese individuals looking to invest more money overseas after three years of COVID19 curbs, industry sources said.

High and ultrahigh net worth families in China are seeking to diversify their investments as they are finally able to travel and as they chase alternatives to a depressed property market at home.

This week has been exceptionally busy, sources said, with mainland visitors flocking to the first Art Basel fair in Hong Kong since China39;s COVID19 curbs were lifted.

Reopening means robust growth in our international business. Client inquiries for offshore investment increased 155 in the first quarter year on year, Oscar Liu, CEO of the wealth management department at Noah International told Reuters.

Noah Holdings, the largest independent wealth management firm in China, was among five private banks and wealth management firms Reuters talked to that said they held client events in the city and organised private art tours.

They are chasing some of China39;s 2.1 million high net wealth families, each with net worth more than 10 million yuan 1.46 million, and 138,000 ultrahigh net worth families with over 100 million yuan as of January 2022, according to data from Hurun Research Institute published this month.

Offshore investment enquiries jumped by a third in March over the previous month, Liu said.

Shanghaibased Noah,…