HK should expand role as family office hub

As I wrote earlier in this column, "HKSAR to march on as a global fintech, trading hub" (China Daily HK Edition, May 21), Hong Kong's future is not so much about remaining as the gateway to the Chinese mainland but mostly about keeping and enhancing its current status as one of the world's most important financial centers by adopting the very economic initiatives that are relevant to the development blueprint for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

I mentioned that, from its involvement in the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong will reap the benefits from different projects and initiatives, such as the Wealth Management Connect program.

The Wealth Management Connect is aimed at reducing cross-border restrictions for the more than 72 million Greater Bay Area residents in investing in wealth products, such as mutual funds, amid an expected increase in the number of millionaires in the region with an estimated $1.8 trillion in output. The Wealth Management Connect marks another milestone in the mainland's capital account liberalization and cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland after the stock and bond connects.

China's regulators announced on May 6 new draft rules for the cross-border Wealth Management Connect. It provides a 150 billion yuan ($23.2 billion) quota ceiling for both southbound and northbound trading under the pilot program, a move that will quite likely accelerate the timing of its official launch. Market participants believe the program will kick off once normal travel between Hong Kong and the mainland resumes. This follows the joint announcement on June 29 last year by the People's Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and the Monetary Authority of Macao on the start of the cross-border Wealth Management Connect pilot program.

Actually, about one-third of Hong Kong-based fund managers expect assets owned by mainland investors under their management to grow by 30 percent between now and 2025, according to a survey by the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association and KPMG.

With the Wealth Management Connect being soon implemented, Hong Kong's family office industry will be a major beneficiary, as explained by Kwan Chi-man, chairman of the Family Office Association Hong Kong, in a press conference held in Hong Kong in late July.

"The Greater Bay Area is an economic powerhouse for China and a world-class economic zone, containing many ultra-high-net-worth individuals," Kwan said in that press conference, estimating that by 2025 the revenue of wealth management will reach $185 billion in the Greater Bay Area.

As per the definition provided by Investopedia, "Family offices are private wealth management advisory firms that serve ultra-high-net-worth investors. They are different from traditional wealth management shops in that they offer a total outsourced solution to managing the financial and investment side of an affluent individual or family. For example, many family offices offer budgeting, insurance, charitable giving, family-owned business, wealth transfer, and tax services."

Lately, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has proved to be very active in taking the right steps toward Hong Kong becoming a family office hub, an area in which the SAR is currently facing strong competition from Singapore.

In this sense, Invest Hong Kong, a government agency that aims to strengthen Hong Kong's status as the leading international business location in Asia, announced on June 29 the opening of the independent office of its dedicated FamilyOfficeHK team, which aims to promote family office business in the city.

As per their press statement, the FamilyOfficeHK team will work closely with the local industry and relevant government departments. In addition to holding seminars to introduce Hong Kong's advantages in the family office industry, it will also provide customer services and meet with family offices or ultra-high-net-worth individuals interested in developing a foothold in Asia. The team will listen to their needs and provide customized assistance services.

These initiatives are undoubtedly a good step forward toward Hong Kong becoming a family office hub, now that, over the past two decades, Asia has seen the fastest family wealth accumulation in the world, and now that the younger generation of wealthy families are not only looking into the traditional investments (real estate, equities, etc.), but also into new asset classes, such as digital currencies, green finance, etc.

Furthermore, Hong Kong becoming a family office hub is clearly consistent not only with the Greater Bay Area blueprint, but also with China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), in which the central government again recognized Hong Kong's potential at the national level and reaffirmed its commitment to support the HKSAR in strengthening its status as an international financial, trade and logistics hub. Undoubtedly, Hong Kong will benefit from pursuing deeper economic integration with the mainland by leveraging many initiatives (such as the Wealth Management Connect and Hong Kong becoming a family office hub), while enhancing its status as one of the world's most important financial centers.