More than 200 representatives from some of the world’s wealthiest families, including the Rockeller family, will be in Hong Kong this week to network, develop business ties and seek growth opportunities in the region, according to Standard Chartered.
Tycoons from the Middle East, India and Africa are also expected to show up at the Global Family Network Forum, a move seen as helping Hong Kong establish an edge over rival regional financial centres for the assets and talents in the industry.
The two-day forum, which kicks off on Tuesday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Central, will be the UK lender’s inaugural annual event, according to Raymond Ang, global head of private banking and affluent clients for Greater China and North Asia. More than half of the attendees will be flying to Hong Kong for the event, he said.
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“Many of our private banking clients want us to host a global event for them to meet with their peers, learn from their experience or explore business collaborations,” Ang said in an interview on Monday. “Hong Kong is a natural place to hold a large-scale family office forum in Asia because of its large pool of wealth.”
Assets under management in Hong Kong grew 2.1 per cent to HK$31.2 trillion (US$4 trillion) in 2023, while net fund inflows surged 342 per cent to HK$389 billion in the same period, according to government data. Standard Chartered managed US$294 billion of assets globally on behalf of its affluent clients at the end of June.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po will deliver a welcome speech at a dinner on Tuesday. Discussions on family succession, investing in different asset classes, globalising family businesses and other topics will follow in a full-day session on Wednesday, according to Ang.
Justin Rockefeller, a great-great-grandson of John Rockefeller, will be among key speakers on Wednesday. He is a co-founder and chairman of The ImPact, a global membership community of 75 prominent families committed to improving the environment and social problems through their investments.
Hong Kong developer New World Development’s executive director Sonia Cheng Chi-man and her uncle Peter Cheng Kar-shing, are also among the speakers.
While many wealthy tycoons have already set up family offices in their home countries, they are also exploring setting up a new base in Hong Kong, Ang said. The forum will allow them to learn more about Hong Kong’s latest policies and incentives for family offices, he added.
“These family offices are growing so quickly that they may have a family office in multiple markets,” Ang said. “Some European families have offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, London and Switzerland because they want people with local knowledge”, while others are keen on Greater China area opportunities, he added.
They also view Hong Kong’s tax incentives and other policies for family offices to be more favourable than those in Singapore, he said.
Hong Kong launched its investment migration scheme in March, which fast-tracks residency for individuals who invest HK$30 million or more in stocks, bonds or insurance policies in Hong Kong. This followed a tax incentive for family offices in May last year.
Ang believes the outlook for family offices in Hong Kong is bright. The recent stock market rally, fuelled by the first US interest-rate cut in this cycle and China’s stimulus bazooka last month, has helped improve market sentiment.
“Family offices have been investing for generations, and they take a very long-term view,” Ang said. “They believe in the long-term growth story of Hong Kong and mainland China. Hong Kong is very attractive because it is very international, and it is a gateway to mainland China.”
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