30/04/24

HONG KONG: Over 130 Family Offices To Start, Widen Operations, Says Hong Kong Government

As published on: wealthbriefingasia.com, Tuesday 30 April, 2024. 

The city is competing against Singapore, Dubai and other hubs to be a location for ultra-high net worth families and family offices.

More than 130 family offices plan to set up or widen operations in Hong Kong, and about three-fifths of these offices are ultimately based in mainland China, the South China Morning Post has quoted the city’s treasury chief as saying.

As of the end of March, Christopher Hui Ching-yu gave a figure of 136 family offices having indicated that they were preparing or had decided to set up or expand operations in the city, the paper said. The minister was responding to a question from lawmakers.

Hong Kong is competing against Singapore and other hubs, including the United Arab Emirates, as a family offices and wealth management location. It has unveiled a package of measures. For example, in June 2023, Hong Kong's government unveiled its “Network of Family Office Service Providers.” The rollout of the network is one of eight initiatives in the government's Policy Statement on Developing Family Office Businesses in Hong Kong.

Giving other figures, the minister said that 82 family offices were based in the mainland, 13 in the rest of Asia, 27 in Europe, nine in the Middle East, four in Oceania and one in North Africa.

Hui said the InvestHK team is confident of achieving a target of helping at least 200 family offices to establish or expand operations in Hong Kong by the end of 2025.

Singapore's family offices sector has met with a few speed bumps.Tighter checks for new applicants have slowed growth in new FOs in the city-state; another factor is Singapore’s higher property prices. Assets seized in the Singapore money laundering case have risen to more than S$3 billion ($2.24 billion), Reuters reported in January.

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Hong Kong Family Offices HNWIs