Hong Kong intends to strengthen its role as a global asset and wealth management center amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary Christopher Hui Ching-yu said Sunday.
Hui said in an interview with members of the media that the stability, safety and sophistication of Hong Kong’s financial services were viewed as "more robust than ever" by both local and international investors amid the conflict.
“That's why against this backdrop, we are proposing some measures to strengthen our role as an asset and wealth management center in the current regime where many investors would like to diversify their investments,” he said.
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Hui said a law would be proposed to the Legislative Council for family offices and eligible funds to be qualified “for tax concession for a wider spectrum of products.”
“At the same time, in two weeks' time, we are going to launch our annual Wealth for Good Summit for family offices such that we can bring these advantages to the international family office ecosystem,” he said.
“As we gather from Invest Hong Kong, in fact a few of the Middle Eastern families are already in town, trying to anticipate our event and at the same time to know more about what we have to offer for family offices and also corporate investors in terms of our asset management businesses,” he added.
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By the end of last year, the number of single-family offices in Hong Kong rose to more than 3,380, up about 25 percent in two years.
Market estimates show that single-family offices employ nearly 10,000 local people and generate about HK$13 billion ($1.66 billion) in economic value each year.
Meanwhile, Hui said the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau would also introduce new measures to better regulate money lenders.
These include imposing a debt servicing ratio cap for unsecured personal loans of those earning below HK$12,000 a month.
