‘Holistic offerings’ aim to attract global family offices and asset owners, says financial-services secretary. Revamped investment-migration scheme would count yuan-denominated assets towards thresholds for residency.

The Hong Kong government has announced a slew of measures aimed at persuading the wealth-management offices of high-net-worth families to set up in the city, including a revamped investment-migration scheme that will count yuan-denominated assets, as well as the creation of art-storage facilities at Hong Kong’s airport.

The policy initiatives come as the city kicked off its Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit on Friday, part of an effort to convince at least 200 family offices – the private companies wealthy families set up to manage investments and philanthropic efforts – to choose Hong Kong as their base by the end of 2025.

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu said the measures represent “holistic offerings” for global family offices and asset owners.

“The attractiveness of Hong Kong goes beyond our role as an investment and financing centre, and the policy measures are formulated to showcase the full charm of Hong Kong as an international cosmopolitan city from multiple dimensions,” Hui said.

The government’s existing Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, commonly known as an investment-migration scheme, allows wealthy individuals and their family members to get residency in Hong Kong as long as they invest a certain amount of money in stocks, bonds, investment-linked insurance policies and other assets.

The proposed revamp to the scheme will allow yuan-denominated assets to count towards the threshold, in addition to assets denominated in Hong Kong dollars, according to a government statement.

Exemption from the profits tax for family-owned investment vehicles is also on the table, and the government plans to further review the existing preferential-tax regimes for funds and carried interest. 

The tax incentives, in a bill that is expected to come to a vote in the Hong Kong legislature soon, would help Hong Kong compete with Singapore, which introduced tax concessions in 2020.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the policy announcements demonstrate the government’s determination to develop Hong Kong into a leading global family-office hub and “pool capital from around the world”.

“It will also promote the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s financial and professional services, innovation and technology, green, arts and culture and philanthropy, creating strong impetus for Hong Kong’s growth,” Chan said in a statement issued on Friday.

The government’s list of incentives also includes the establishment of facilities for art storage and display at Hong Kong International Airport, to encourage rich families to store their art collections in Hong Kong.

Aik-Ping Ng, head of family office advisory for Asia Pacific at HSBC global private banking, said the firm welcomed the announcements by the Hong Kong government.

“We continue to see rising interest in family offices from our ultra-high-net-worth clients, whose multifaceted and intergenerational needs would benefit from such a set-up,” Ng said in a statement released on Friday.

“Hong Kong, as an international asset and wealth-management centre, has a clear competitive advantage to serve the sophisticated needs of global business families and their family offices as they look to expand their operations in Asia.”

HSBC hosted a wine-and-dine event with its clients and Grammy-winning recording artist Pharrell Williams on Wednesday to promote the launch of a new offering that allows high-net-worth individuals to get loans using “passion assets” such as art as collateral.

Other government measures introduced on Friday include the establishment of a new Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy under the Financial Services Development Council, a move aimed at cultivating a talent pool for family offices in Hong Kong.

Attendees at the event on Friday include CP Group’s senior chairman Dhanin Chearavanont and his eldest son Soopakij. 

The Chearavanonts, whose members have dominated Thailand’s billionaires list for decades, plan to set up a family office in Hong Kong to invest the clan’s fortunes, which is seen as a coup and boosts the city’s ambition of becoming Asia’s wealth-management hub.

Other attendees include Hong Kong moguls Richard Li Tzar-kai and Ronnie Chan Chi-chung, as well as a number of global financial and philanthropic heavyweights.

At least 14 tycoons and chiefs of the world’s leading family offices and organisations – including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Swiss bank UBS and Art Basel – were slated to speak at the closed-door event at the Hong Kong Palace Museum in West Kowloon Cultural District.

The event was set to include four panel discussions touching on the themes of arts and culture, technology, sustainability and philanthropy. 

Guests will be entertained with a cultural performance in the evening, according to the summit’s programme, including a traditional Chinese dragon dance and a gala dinner.sc m

end item*