Hong Kong overtakes Singapore in attracting single family offices: government official
- ‘Significant traction’ in the last six months from wealthy families in Middle East, India, Israel and other Asia markets keen on offices in Hong Kong: Family Office Association
Hong Kong has drawn more single family offices than Singapore according to a recent tally, after the government unveiled a range of incentives including tax breaks and an investment-migration programme, according to a senior government official, who said the trend will continue amid sustained capital inflows.
Hong Kong had more than 2,700 single-family offices – corporations established to pursue investment, philanthropy and succession planning – at the end of last year, according to a study published by Deloitte in March, compared with about 1,400 single-family offices in Singapore at the end of last year, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
“Over the past three years, we have witnessed a 24 per cent increase in the total number of hedge fund managers, private equity fund managers and family offices in Hong Kong,” said Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun at the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association (HKIFA) annual conference on Monday.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu set a target in October 2022 of attracting 200 large new family offices to the city by 2025. InvestHK, a government agency which supports foreign investment, said it has helped 64 family offices so far to set up shop in Hong Kong, while another 130 have indicated plans to do so.
Last year, Hong Kong’s government announced a slew of measures aimed at persuading the wealth-management offices of high-net-worth families to set up in the city, offering tax breaks and a revamped investment-migration scheme.
Wong said many of these firms have scaled up, with 60 per cent of them managing assets worth more than US$50 million.
