UK banking giant Barclays sees a surge in demand for structured products from Asia, with the region now accounting for 50 per cent of its global business.

Barclays, the UK banking giant, has tripled the volume of its Asian structured products business from 2010 to 2013, with the region now accounting for 50 per cent of the division's sales in the private bank globally.

The surge is largely attributable to investors' growing appetite for equity, commodity and currency-linked products as clients searched for yield while seeking to manage downside risk, said the firm in a statement. The common theme among popular structured products is that of simplicity and transparency, with short tenors, enhanced yield and early redemption options. These trends are expected to continue to drive demand in 2014.

Equities are becoming a dominant asset class in Asia, while the Renminbi remains a favourite in terms of currency-linked notes, with digital options or participation options forming the bulk of structured products with FX underliers. Over the counter business across asset classes such as bonds and equities also continue to be well received.

“While there have been negative connotations around structured products post the financial crisis in the minds of investors, increasing the simplicity and transparency of our product offering have helped in making investors more comfortable with these investments," said Irene HY Chen, head of structured products, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

Aside from Asia, Barclays also notes that the Middle East is experiencing a similar magnitude of growth, with commodity-linked structures like oil-linked notes remaining highly popular. There is also increasing interest from high net worth individuals desiring short-dated notes for wealth accumulation and longer-dated notes for wealth preservation.

Structured products are offered under the company's wealth management arm and are designed to give clients a customised exposure to a particular asset.