UBS AG, the world’s second-largest manager of assets for the rich, expects private-banking revenue from China to at least double annually as the ranks of wealthy swell and regulators ease curbs on what products it can sell, reported Bloomberg.

UBS Securities, 20 percent owned by the Zurich-based bank, plans to further expand the services it offers rich clients in China that include fixed income and mutual funds, said Richard Leung, head of wealth management at UBS Securities Co.

UBS Securities, which started private banking in August 2007, has outlets in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Leung said his hiring plans depend on the pace of growth in assets under management.

Bank of China Ltd. said in March 2007 it would start private banking, the first local bank to do so. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world’s most profitable bank, followed about a year later.

Citigroup Inc., which started catering to individuals in China who have at least $10 million two years ago, has said it wants the nation to account for a fifth of its private banking business.

Chinese regulators are likely to become more supportive of more complex financial products like derivatives, helping drive growth, said Leung. China’s securities regulator said last week it will introduce index futures, margin trading and short sales, bringing its capital markets closer to international standards.