HONG KONG, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Denmark's Saxo Bank said

on Monday it will be closing its Hong Kong office, 13 years

after it first entered the market.

"Due to the rapidly changing business landscape in the

region, Saxo has made the difficult but necessary decision to

close its Hong Kong office," the bank said in a statement on its

website.

Saxo said it had stopped taking new clients in Hong Kong as

of Monday and has contacted all existing clients and partners

about the closure.

Saxo Bank told clients in a separate letter seen by Reuters

that the Hong Kong exit was the result of a review of its global

strategies.

A Singapore-based spokesperson for Saxo confirmed the

content of the client letter.

Saxo Bank said in the letter it has decided to discontinue

operations in Hong Kong "after careful considerations".

In what it calls a phased wind-down, clients will only be

able to place trades to close existing positions, not opening

new ones, starting from Nov 1, Saxo Bank said in the letter.

In the meantime, Saxo Bank asked its clients to transfer

their positions to a new broker, withdraw their funds and

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A Saxo Bank spokesperson didn't immedicately respond to a

Reuters query for comment on the client letter.

Saxo Bank's owners, including a unit under Chinese carmaker

Geely, announced in July it has appointed Goldman Sachs ( GS ) to

conduct a review of its global strategies.

The bank was exploring a sale of itself, Reuters reported in

April, 18 months after talks to merge with a blank-cheque

company fell apart.

Geely owns close to 50% of the group, with the bank's CEO

Kim Fournais holding 28% and Finnish insurer Sampo

almost 20%, according to Saxo Bank's website.